


Reality Check

by ChelPixelArt



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A FUN slow burn, Alternate Universe, BUT not the type of slow burn that makes you want to rip your hair out, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Hiding in Plain Sight, I promise, Identity Reveal, Mutual Pining, Romance, Secret Identity, Slow Burn, love square
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-21 09:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 38,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14282190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChelPixelArt/pseuds/ChelPixelArt
Summary: -AU- When Marinette had emailed her audition tape to Agreste Productions over a year and a half ago, she couldn’t have dreamed that they would actually be in favor of her voice acting abilities. As it turned out, that decision paid off, because the cartoon she auditioned for became wildly popular. The show about a superhero girl named Ladybug and a superhero boy named Cat Noir in a fantasy setting of modern-day Paris became a staple of American television, and the characters became the darlings of the internet, with many fans burning with emotions for the unrequited love displayed between Cat Noir and Ladybug.Or: The one wherein Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste are co-stars for a superhero cartoon; Marinette secretly writes fanfiction for it, and Adrien is a loyal reader, but neither of them know the truth of each other's identities.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! So to explain: this story is about the production of a cartoon show. Mixed in is a secret fanfiction, an anonymous friendship, mutual pining, a reality show, and much, much more.
> 
> At first glance, this story is the DEFINITION of a slow burn, but once you get past the first chapter's long introductory paragraphs, it's wonderful and charming and fun and sweet, much like the actual show. I hope you don't get deterred from the slow burn, and that you enjoy each chapter!
> 
> Now that I've said all the things that the newcomers are thinking, without further ado, here's Chapter One!

Marinette couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face as she leaned forward, her eyes quickly scanning the script that was laying flat on the table before her.

This episode of The Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug & Cat Noir was going to be a doozy. In a good way. She could already tell.

She could also already imagine how all the fans were going to react online after its premiere.

“Alright people, we have a month until deadline for this one and no time to spare.” Gabriel Agreste, her boss and director, a balding man in his late forties, clapped twice. “Chop chop. Everyone to their seats.”

She glanced up furtively to note that Adrien and Chloe had paused their conversation to walk over and take their places at the reading table.

Chloe sat directly across the table, and Adrien slipped into his seat beside Marinette.

She swallowed and kept her eyes glued to her script.

“Where in the blazes is my _Ladybug_?” Gabriel did a full three-sixty before looking down. “Has _anyone_ seen- Ah. You’re already in your chair, Marinette. Right beside my Cat Noir. Good. Adrien, look alive.”

She gave Gabriel a polite little nod when being addressed, before reverting her attention back to the stapled sheets of paper in front of her. Embarrassment crept up her cheeks in the form of a blush at the awareness made of her designated spot next to _Adrien James Agreste_.

[He’d never told her his middle name. She only knew thanks to Wikipedia.]

“Camera crew...” Gabriel sighed deeply. “ _Where_ is the camera crew?”

Everyone looked around, and then a young woman named Alya - an intern - cracked the door open and poked her head into the room. “They’re in the restroom.”

“All three of them?” He asked in disbelief.

“Um, yes, sir.”

He sighed again, exasperated. “Can you tell them to hurry up?”

Alya blinked. “Um…” she repeated. “It’s the men’s restroom, sir.”

“I am quite literally carrying two television shows of two entirely different genres on my shoulders.” The director said aloud, as if to himself and not to her. “I write. I animate. I direct. I produce. And yet I still have to do _everything else_ around here.”

Alya looked apologetic. “Right. I’ll just go get them-”

“No need!” Voices from down the hallway outside their room exclaimed. In walked - rather hurriedly - the camera crew. The intern made herself scarce.

Gabriel clapped again. “C’mon people, c’mon people; alright, is that everybody?”

“That’s everybody,” Sabrina, who was seated beside Chloe, piped up cheerfully.

“Get excited, folks! Yes, Nino, that means you.” Standing behind Nino’s seat, he shook his shoulders, and the young man jolted up from his slumber. A bit of drool was on his chin. “Come _on_ people!” Gabriel clapped loudly enough to rival thunder. “Everyone in your places, smiles upon your faces, faces on your scripts! There’s no time to delay; carpe diem and _focus_!”

His rapid-fire pep talk was met with obedient silence and straightened postures.

“Cameras rolling in five…” one of the cameramen began.

Everyone shifted and adjusted themselves in their seats.

“...Four…”

Gabriel fixed his bowtie at the front of the table.

“...Three…”

Adrien cleared his throat.

“...Two…”

The cameraman pointed his finger in their direction and began filming.

And just like that, Marinette was all business.

“Good morning, everybody!” Gabriel boomed to everyone seated around the table, purposefully ignoring the multiple cameras in various locations in the room.

 _Good morning_ despite the fact that it was currently four am.

Well, that _was_ technically morning, despite it being entirely sadistic.

Their director had strange tendencies and beliefs; one of them being that all their voices sounded stronger and better at ungodly hours of the night.

He continued in an overly friendly voice. “Great work on the last episode, everyone. Great, great work. Just three more episodes before Season Two wraps up, and I couldn’t be more proud of you all.”

Sighs were stifled at his attempt at a touching sentiment.

“So we’ve got more work to do than ever before if we wish to finish this season out with a bang before the hiatus. Of course, it’ll be a hiatus for the fans; _not_ a hiatus for us.” He looked down at his clipboard. “Our most recent episode’s premiere left us with a viewership rating of 1.12 million. Our goal for the season’s finale is to exceed our pilot episode’s rating, which was…?” He gestured to them for an open answer.

“1.47 million,” Max, the statistics wizard in their voice acting department, completed for him.

“Thank you, Max.” Gabriel nodded. “Without further to do but read, let’s do just that. Our lovely Marinette is starting us out this episode.” He looked over at her. “Please begin… and remember that this is only rehearsal for the real deal, so don’t have _too_ much fun with it now.”

Knowing fully well that only the very beginning of the script-reading would be filmed for the reality show, Marinette leaned forward, opened her mouth, and read her opening line as expressively as she could at four hours past midnight.

“Cat Noir, I’ve just about _had_ it with you. If your attacks were as bad as your puns, we’d be the most laughable superheroes in Paris.”

Adrien leaned forward in his seat as well, and continued the dialogue in the script. “And if your comebacks were as purr-fect as your beauty, perhaps we’d be able to consider what we’re doing as proper banter.”

All around the table the voice actors chuckled. Gabriel smiled.

“And… cut.” The cameraman announced.

Everyone relaxed.

Gabriel, for his part, was already halfway out the door. “Marinette. Adrien. Green room in an hour. Everyone else: rehearse your lines and be in your studio booths by six. Remember that we need more background screams for some of the battle scenes, so-” he waved a flippant hand “-be sure to gargle some saltwater.”

Marinette gathered her papers and pushed her seat back, standing.

As she was silently leaving the room, sweeping her bangs to the side of her face with one hand, she overhead the beginning of another conversation Chloe was initiating with Adrien.

“You’re so good at what you do, Adrikins.” Her voice was flirty, dripping with sugar. No wonder she was renowned in the world of voice acting.

“Thanks Chloe; so are you. You make a great Queen Bee.” As always, he sounded pleasant and polite.

“Oh for goodness’ sake, forget about _my_ secondary character. Cat Noir is all the rage and center-stage, and you know it. This cartoon would be nothing without you.”

Marinette suppressed a groan as she walked out. The last thing she heard was his response: “Maybe, but the reality show portion of all this wouldn’t have lasted two episodes without your natural flair for the camera.”

The reality show portion, indeed.

It was a little odd, describing what exactly they did here at Agreste Productions, Hollywood, California. Throwing the reality show into the mix made it even more strange and unlike anything the world had ever witnessed before.

When Marinette had emailed her audition tape to Gabriel Agreste over a year and a half ago, she couldn’t have dreamed that he would actually be in favor of her voice acting abilities. Her wonderful, incredible, selfless parents Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng had quit their jobs and relocated to California with her so that she could pursue her new career. And as it turned out, that decision paid off, because the cartoon became wildly popular; not only among children, but also teenagers, college students, parents, and even the older generations. The weekly ratings for Season One were off the charts; a shock to Marinette, a joy to Gabriel Agreste. A cartoon about a superhero girl named Ladybug and a superhero boy named Cat Noir in a fantasy setting of modern-day Paris became a staple of American television, and once the romantic angle was introduced in Episode Three (in which Cat began actively pursuing Ladybug, despite her refusal to return his affections), the characters became the darlings of the internet, with many fans burning with emotions for the unrequited love displayed.

Then came the odd twist. Between the first and second seasons for the cartoon show, there came a hiatus, and during the hiatus, Gabriel’s ambitions went skyward. After weighing his options and meeting with different executives who wished to share in his fortune, he eventually decided upon a newer technology to further the advancement of the cartoon and the company.

The technical term for it was “live-action motion-capture animation”. Essentially, the animation style was changed to that of the same style of movies such as “Avatar” by James Cameron and “The Polar Express” by Chris Van Allsburg. Each character’s actor - the real-life people behind the voices - were asked to sign a contract, to give Agreste Productions the right to capture every motion and emotion they possibly could of each individual actor in order to animate the cartoon in an almost life-like way.

Once everyone agreed to the change and signed their contracts, every voice actor was brought together and introduced to one another in a group setting. The “green room” was built; a gigantic room with green walls, green floors, and a green ceiling. Costumes with tiny motion-capture spots were designed to cover the actors from neck to toe, and props and actual-sized buildings were built within the green room so that the actors could perform real-life stunts. Body trainers and exercise coaches were hired to get the actors in shape. What had once started out as mere voice acting had now been kicked up every single imaginable notch to an actual, physical, mental, and emotional performance, week after week after week.

And then Gabriel Agreste breathlessly waited on the night of the Season Two premiere for the viewership ratings to either go up… or down.

They went up. _Very_ much up.

The live-action motion-capture animation was almost unanimously considered a fantastically fresh improvement by fans of all age groups. The show garnered thousands of new viewers. The episodes were loved, the acting was adored, and Ladybug and Cat Noir became something of a pop culture phenomenon, due to their… admittedly attractive physiques. All thanks to Marinette’s and Adrien’s body coaches.

Then, Gabriel came up with an idea that shocked and rocked everyone’s world off its axis. A _reality show_ to take their superfans behind-the-scenes of the production of the cartoon. Every voice actor would eat, exercise, sleep, and live at Agreste Productions _Apartments_ (conveniently built on the third floor of the same building), and the camera crew could follow the actors, prop builders, wardrobe designers, writers, animators, interns, and whoever-the-heck-else around during work-hours and occasionally off-the-clock. A “step further”, as he explained it, “for the beloved viewers.”

More like a dollar further for his beloved _wallet_ … but that was besides the point.

And so another round of contracts were passed out, read carefully and thoroughly, then signed and returned.

Now here they were: three episodes (read: months) before the end of Season Two and another half-year hiatus.

Work never ended.

Not that Marinette minded of course. She was living the dream life, working her dream job, with a _dreamboat_ who was tall, blonde, sweet, green-eyed, rosy-cheeked, humble, kind, and sweet.

Now if only she could muster up the courage to talk to him outside of the acting world.

 _There’s a fresh thought,_ Marinette rolled her eyes sarcastically at herself in the mirror of the ladies’ restroom.

There was no getting around it; she harbored a major crush. And why wouldn’t she? Despite being the son of a famous Hollywood director, a hard worker in his own right, a voice actor with an impressive repertoire of indie video games and a successful cartoon and even an internationally popular English-dubbed anime film, and a _beautiful_ human being with model-like attributes, he always remained down-to-earth and never acted as if he were every crazed fangirl’s idea of a wet dream.

And yet… she couldn’t strike up or carry on a conversation with him longer than a brief minute, due to her terrible stammering. Here she was, Marinette Dupain-Cheng of beloved Ladybug fame, whose character had merchandise in her image in every Hot Topic retail store in the nation, and she didn’t have the confidence to simply talk to her co-star.

She sighed miserably.

She was _hopeless._

A notification from her phone interrupted her pity-partying reverie, and she took it out of her cardigan’s pocket, unlocked it, and after a moment, grinned.

Yet another comment on her latest piece of online fanfiction.

She eagerly checked it to see who’d written her a critique, then raised her eyebrows. A _new_ username. Not any of the familiar ones from her usual followerbase.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Saw that this was one of the rare oneshots on this website with over a million bookmarks, and my curiosity was piqued. So glad I checked it out. Your writing style is effortless and the words flow together beautifully. Not to mention, the plot itself was phenomenal. Thank you for sharing your gift with the world. I scrolled through your comments section, by the way. Your follower count is impressive, and completely justified. You are TALENTED. You can call me your newest subscriber. Can’t wait to read the rest of your stories… I’m so glad there’s a long list!**

Marinette couldn’t help but let out a squeal as she reread the high praise.

Then a second notification alerted her to her profile page.

A private message.

She clicked on it to open it.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hi. :) I have a question about “The Miraculous Masquerade”, if you don’t mind me taking up some of your free time.**

She considered briefly whether or not to reply.

Ordinarily she wouldn’t, simply because there were _so many_ private messages always flowing into her inbox, and she didn’t like the idea of showing favoritism. Not to mention, no one in the fanfiction community knew her true identity: that she wasn’t just a fangirl of the fictional universe she wrote stories about, but was also an actual _voice actor_ for the same exact show, and she could be fired, or worse, _sued_ if her secret was found out. But this person had been very kind, and had put her in a good mood, and there was no way they would be able to tell who she was as long as she simply kept them at arm’s length, right? Right.

Her fingers flew on the touch-screen keyboard.

**CatGotYourTongue: Hello! I don’t mind at all. What’s your question?**

She checked the time - there was only a half hour left until it was time to head to the green room - and decided that if she were to wait before work, it would be better to do so in her comfy little apartment rather than in the public restroom.

\----

Adrien sat up straighter on the recliner in the fourth-floor hallway of Agreste Productions and stared down at his phone’s notification in disbelief.

The popular writer he’d written a lengthy review and a private request to had actually responded - _politely._

For perhaps what was the millionth time in the past two years of his life, he bashfully recognized how ironic it was that he was a voice actor _and_ a secret superfan of the same cartoon. It was his biggest secret, his greatest weakness, his comforting vice, his escape from reality.

Indeed, how very ironic.

But now was not the time to mull over his confusion between fantasy and reality. Fanfiction was the place where fantasy and reality collided into one. It was his most exciting passion - reading, that is. How he wished he had the ability to write as eloquently as the thousands of contributors to the website. But alas, writing anything past a good review was not his forte.

_Focus, Adrien. Respond to their question about your question._

He began typing, and then when he was finished, he thoroughly checked it for typos.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Thank you so much for being willing to hear me out! I hate to sound needy; I bet you receive unwanted requests all the time, but I simply must ask in hope anyway. Do you think there’s any chance at all you could turn this oneshot into a multi-chapter fic? If your answer is no, I’ll back off right away. I understand you must be very busy with all the hard work you do on this site. But it’s just that the masquerade dance setting you chose for the plot is chock-full of future potential (in my opinion), and I bet Ladybug could even fall in love with Cat Noir given the chance to dance with him. I guess that’s what drives me so crazy about this story… they never shared a dance! A romantic waltzing scene in a future chapter could really amp things up, you know what I mean? There seems to be unresolved tension between them, and it’s well-done, but I’m craving more. But like I said, I completely and totally understand if you’d like to leave it as it is. I admire writers like you for being able to so vividly describe a good story. Thanks again for hearing me out!**

Satisfied with what he’d typed, he pressed send.

Then he checked the time.

“Looks like I’m gonna have to wait for a reply,” he sighed, then brightened. “Duty calls.”

And so he stood up, walked toward the elevator, pressed the button, waited for it to open, then stepped inside.

It was almost time to perform some fun, exciting stunts with his co-star, Marinette. Speaking of her...

He really wondered about that girl sometimes.

She was a quiet little mouse most of the time; she kept to herself, she barely spoke to anyone without being spoken to first, and she very, very rarely talked to him, but when she was at the reading table or in the studio booth or in the green room? Man, that girl came _alive_ with expression and passion and emotion. No wonder his father had hired her after hearing only one audition tape.

He only wished he could get to know her as well as he’d gotten to know everyone else in the acting department. But she always seemed to have somewhere to be, somewhere far away from him.

Truth be told, it hurt a little. He admired her talent, and he wanted to be friends. That girl was truly going places someday. Places beyond voice acting. She had the ability and agility and the looks to be a bonafide movie star. She was _made_ for Hollywood. He knew it, his father knew it, and he was certain that she knew it too.

And… maybe that’s why she didn’t want to be friends. Because she was aware that he was beneath her. Maybe she didn’t care about the cartoon; she just cared about the paycheck.

He sighed sadly.

It was a real shame. Perhaps in a different universe, they could've been fantastic friends.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A hearty thank you to everyone who left me such wonderful reviews on the first chapter! You guys motivated me to get this second chapter done in record time.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Can't wait to hear what you think of this one.

Marinette had grown accustomed to cameras at every turn. It was a side effect of living the life of show business.

It helped, though, that she was rarely the center of attention.

The reality show, “Miraculous And Beyond”, liked to paint her as the untouchable portrait of a mysteriously shy actress who kept strictly to herself. She was always the subject of the finishing statement in the final commentary of each episode’s final product. [“Will Chloe Bourgeois and Adrien Agreste finally make their secret romance official? Is Nino Lahiffe struggling with a sleeping disorder? And will the enigmatic Marinette Dupain-Cheng _ever_ speak up? About anything?”]

She was a stereotype. A background character. An afterthought.

Fans of the reality show never seemed to have much discourse about her on social sites. Their main focus was on Adrien, and to a lesser extent, Chloe. Which made sense; Adrien was literally the poster child for the company, and Chloe was… well, _Chloe_. No explanation was really needed for her. Of course, put those two together in a room, and there was _major_ shipping fuel for the forums. Life had an interesting way of going about its business, however. Adrien had made it clear to Chloe at least twice now [while Marinette eavesdropped], that he wasn’t interested in anything past a friendship. That hadn’t deterred the superfans online, of course. Or Chloe, for that matter.

“Cut!”

She jumped, startled. And nearly lost her equilibrium on the makeshift ledge of the leaning fake building she was currently balancing on.

Oh. Right.

They were motion-capture filming in the green room.

Marinette exhaled.

Gabriel spoke into a megaphone from the director’s seat. “Adrien, son, for the love of God. This time around when you say your lines, at least _try_ to be convincing about it.”

“I’m sorry, Father,” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. He was standing on her little ledge too, but he kept just enough distance between them to be polite. “I’m a little out of it today.”

“Well, get back _into_ it.” Gabriel shot him a stern look. “You’re Cat Noir! Madly in love with Ladybug! Fighting crime! _Not_ wasting everyone’s time.”

“Right,” Adrien nodded sheepishly. His eyes darted to meet Marinette’s, and she instinctively looked down.

“We’re taking it from the top.” Gabriel lowered his megaphone for a moment, then lifted it back up again. “Adrien, if you don’t do everything in your power to convince me that you’re in love with the girl in front of you then I will personally take over and show you how it’s done. Understood?”

Both Adrien and Marinette visibly cringed at this threat. Having Gabriel Agreste act out the role of Cat Noir was in _no one’s_ best interest.

Marinette timidly looked up at Adrien.

He was quietly staring her down, and she wanted to melt into slime.

“Cameras at the ready…”

But she straightened, solidified her best Ladybug stance, and lifted her chin boldly.

“And… action!”

Adrien’s eyes - those _striking_ green eyes - flashed with fresh emotion.

“My Lady,” he breathed, as if he’d been running for miles. “The Akuma is too strong. And I’ve already used my Cataclysm.”

“We need a new strategy.” She furrowed her eyebrows, panting as well. “I’m not going to try anything with my Lucky Charm just yet. We need to save that for an emergency.”

A crashing sound effect was played over the hidden loudspeakers. Adrien and Marinette whipped their heads around to look into the green distance in horror.

“Sounds like that emergency has come knocking at our door!” Adrien grabbed her wrist and whirled her around so that he was protectively standing in front of her.

Marinette craned her neck and popped her head up above his left shoulder so that her battle-focused expression could be openly seen by the cameras. “Knocking at the door, you say?” She intentionally brightened. “I have an idea.”

“I’m up for whatever plan you can think of!”

She cast him a brilliant smile. “If the akumatized victim is knocking, we should show our manners, wouldn’t you say?”

“And let them in?” Adrien paused, then slowly grinned back. “ _Or_ we could make like newlyweds and... pretend we’re not home?” He wagged his eyebrows at her flirtatiously.

Marinette slapped her palm to her forehead and dragged it down her face. “Cat Noir, _focus_.”

“And… that’s a wrap!”

Marinette took a quick step away from Adrien.

The scenes in each episode of the animated show were always performed out of sequence, which frequently made Marinette’s memory jumbled over what was actually going on in the plot. Thankfully, she always had those once-a-month Friday nights to herself to watch and analyze and obsess over the cartoon when it aired.

Adrien turned to her and offered a small smile. “Good work today.”

She blinked up at him in shock.

Words.

_Words._

Speak some _words._

“Th-thank you.” She looked down at his feet. He was wearing the motion-capture costume shoes. They were green with clear spots, like the rest of what he was wearing, but by the time the animators were done working their magic, his feet would be wearing black leather boots onscreen.

“Um…” Adrien shuffled his feet, and she glanced back up to his masked face with a start. He released air from his nostrils. “Look, Marinette-”

She could only blink again at him.

He ran a green-gloved hand through a tuft of his blonde hair. “I… I know we never really talk to each other outside of the script, and… I just wanted to say I’m sorry if I’ve put you off in some way. I truly never intended to.”

She continued to stare at him like an incapacitated fish.

He looked visibly uncomfortable. “That’s… all I wanted to say. Um, see you later, Marinette.”

She watched, in a trance, as he carefully lowered himself off the ledge, dangled for a moment, then allowed his feet to hit the floor below. He looked up at her once more, nodded, then walked off.

By the time he was in his dressing room and out of sight, she regained her sense of her own heartbeat.

And promptly deflated.

_Yep. He thinks I’m a total weirdo._

\----

Adrien slumped against the door.

_Yep. She thinks I’m a total weirdo._

After he got out of his motion-capture costume and had put on normal human clothes again, he slipped out of the dressing room, dodged crew members along the way who were flurrying about with their equipment, and made his escape to his solace on the third floor.

His apartment.

His father had a rather… formidable mansion just ten miles away from where Agreste Productions was located, but Adrien had preferred the community living style that had been arranged here at work. After all, he was nineteen years old now. There was nothing wrong with having a little space to himself.

All the better to conduct his private obsession of his favorite cartoon in comfort.

It was so odd.

Whenever he was acting as Cat Noir, it was as if his body and brain took on an auto-pilot position. Like he wasn’t in charge of anything happening around him or within him. In a way, it was like he blacked out, and only reawakened after the cameras stopped rolling.

But when he was watching the show? And obsessing over it on social sites? And debating with other fans on anonymous forums? And watching AMVs on YouTube? And reading fanfiction?

He was completely in control.

Nothing and no one was taking his attention or focus away, or distracting him, or telling him what to do, or how to act, or what to think. He could do as he pleased; _enjoy_ what he pleased. It was wonderful.

Suddenly remembering, all at once, that he had left behind an important conversation on his favorite fanfiction website, Adrien flopped down onto his bed, took out of his phone, and eagerly checked to see if he’d received a response.

His heart began to beat faster when he saw the unread message in his private inbox.

**CatGotYourTongue: I deeply appreciate your compliments on my work. Thank you! As for your request, I’m terribly sorry, but I like my work the way it already is, and I don’t see a need to continue. The whole point of the story is to create a longing in the reader due to that unresolved tension. It’s much like the show, if I do say so myself. Trust me, I’m a LadyNoir shipper; but my work tends to portray the subtle side of things. It keeps the readers wanting more. ;) But hey, you have quite a way with words. I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you that before, considering your works page is empty. But you do. You should write your own fanfiction! I highly recommend it. It’s fun, it’s imaginative, and YOU get to control what happens. Why not go for it?**

\----

Marinette heard the _ping_ of a notification and paused her cooking in the little kitchenette of her apartment to check her phone.

She smiled to herself when she saw the username at the top of her screen.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Wow, two replies in one morning! This day sure has been a “lucky” charm for me. Haha thanks for responding again. I see how it is with you; you’re a TEASE. Forgive me for being so bold, but your writing style is designed to torture the readers. I see it all now. Haha :) Like I said before, you’re phenomenal! I’ll read the rest of your works, don’t you worry, but I can’t promise I won’t cry! As for what you suggested, firstly, I can’t believe you think I’m good with words. Seriously, thank you so much. But unfortunately, I don’t know the first thing about storytelling. I like fun, I like imagination, and I definitely like control, but when it comes to putting a plot down on paper, I’m a hopeless fool. But thanks again for the kind compliment. Well, have a nice day! I’m off to read more of your works now.**

Marinette frowned.

There was no way on this earth that “BugabooBoyfriend” couldn’t write. She could practically hear the well-put enthusiasm in their message, and _feel_ the charm they emanated when presenting a pun and calling her a “tease”. To dismiss their own ability was… well, sad.

And she almost left it at that.

Because, after all, eventually they would get that push to write someday, and it needn’t be forced upon them too soon.

But then she finished cooking, and sat down, and then began eating, chewing her breakfast slowly, and she couldn’t stop thinking about how _nice_ this reader had made her feel earlier that morning.

They had powerful control over the words they used.

So she pulled her phone back out and typed back a slow and carefully thought out response.

**CatGotYourTongue: I’m never one to pressure anyone for what they want or don’t want to do, but I almost feel obligated to tell you that you ARE good at storytelling. You told a story when you reviewed my work, you told another story when you asked me your question, and you told yet another story when explaining that you can’t write stories. Do you understand what I mean? You’re very expressive. I see hidden talent in you. I see potential. Look, I don’t usually do this... but I could beta your first piece of work if you’re willing to try to write something. It can be anything. Anything at all, within the Miraculous fandom. But like I said, I’m not one to pressure. If you don’t want to, I totally get it. Thanks again for the kind review on my oneshot. It made my day. Cheers. :)**

And then she waited.

Half an hour later, the phone alerted her to a new message.

**BugabooBoyfriend: I have a proposal for you.**

She cocked an eyebrow.

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yes. I hope you don’t mind.**

**CatGotYourTongue: What is it?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’ll TRY to write a oneshot. Not to publish, just to share with you. But only if YOU write more chapters to “The Miraculous Masquerade.” Not to publish, just to share with me. That way no one else will see you let up your art of subtlety, and I’ll get the hopefully happy fluffy ending I deserve? :) [I’m so sorry if I’m overstepping my boundaries. I don’t mean to come off as rude in any way. I just thought we could both benefit from this idea.]**

\----

Adrien sighed against his pillow and checked his phone again.

The “CatGotYourTongue” person hadn’t responded in twenty minutes. He’d probably scared them off by being too friendly too soon. Not to mention too demanding.

Great.

Now he’d have to delete his account, and come up with a new username, even though he really _liked_ the one he had now, and-

_Ping._

His eyes widened, and he scrambled to pick up his phone.

**CatGotYourTongue: You’ve got yourself a deal.**

His face softened into a relieved smile.

 **BugabooBoyfriend:** **Let’s shake on it. /offers hand/**

**CatGotYourTongue: /shakes hand/ Looking forward to doing business with you, sir. [Or is it madam?]**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Same here. And sir. It’s sir. And you? :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: It’s madam. I’ll get started on Chapter Two right away. I’ll message you when it’s complete!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’ll rack my brain for inspiration.**

**CatGotYourTongue: In my experience, music helps. You’ve got this!**

\----

Adrien took a deep breath.

_She’s right. I’ve GOT this._

_...I think._

But no amount of low self-confidence in his abilities could take away his joy. He'd made an actual internet friend, for the first time ever, in this fandom. Someone who shared his passion.

Maybe his co-star thought he was lame. But who cared? He had the newfound camaraderie - and actual respect - of an exceptionally gifted writer named "CatGotYourTongue". She was _nice._

He smiled deeply. 

_Yeah... nice._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important to note:
> 
> The link that Adrien sends to Marinette is a VERY REAL LINK that will transport you to YouTube.
> 
> I did NOT create the piano cover of the Miraculous theme song. That is NOT my doing. It was done by the YouTube account "BGH Music", and they are extremely talented people.
> 
> And yes, in this universe, Adrien creates the words to the song we all love and know by heart.
> 
> Okay, I've held onto your attentions for long enough. Enjoy Chapter Three!

As Marinette put the finishing touches of cream and sugar into her coffee, she had to admit to herself that Gabriel Agreste was a brilliant businessman. Not a genius - she wouldn’t go that far - but he _was_ brilliant.

 _After all,_ she reminded herself as she settled down into her pink loveseat across from the little TV stand, her coffee mug warming her hands, _the guy was smart enough to dish out just a little extra stuff for the die-hards each week so that the monthly waits between the good stuff aren’t unbearable._

The “extra stuff” being the reality show, of course, while the “good stuff” was the cartoon show.

Tonight was another Friday night of reality TV. It had currently been two weeks since the last episode of “The Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug And Cat Noir”, which meant yet another two weeks until the next episode. In the meantime, the fans had “Miraculous and Beyond.” Which aired every single Friday night without fail, and always managed to provide new content.

_Oh Gabriel, you brilliantly greedy man. Or rather, are you greedily brilliant? Hm. One meaning, another meaning. To-ma-to, to-mah-to?_

The commercial break ended, scattering Marinette’s self-imposed linguistic questions, and the all-too-familiar instrumental theme music began to play, signifying the beginning of a new episode.

This wordless music was the only identical feature between the two different shows. But beyond that, they were completely set apart. One would instantly be aware of this by the theme song montages. For “The Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug and Cat Noir”, the scenes were of the two titular characters, in all their cartoon glory, zipping across buildings and racing each other into the Parisian sunset, grinning all the while. For “Miraculous and Beyond”, the scenes were of artists hard at work on drawings of the earliest underdeveloped prototypes of the now-beloved characters, of Gabriel Agreste and his writing team mouthing to each other in passionate discussion over a table with scattered papers and pens, of several different voice actors [Chloe, Max, and Nino] in their studio booths with headphones and microphones, and lastly, to close out the heightened end of the theme music, a filmed-for-the-cartoon scene of Adrien and Marinette in their green motion-capture costumes fist-bumping while still in-character.

The opening line by the narrator [who was a pretty nice guy with a sweet family; she’d met him once or twice while wandering on the fifth floor] was pretty standard. He went on and on for a bit about Gabriel’s added stress load - not that it would bother Gabriel considering he was the one who greenlit each episode before it aired - due to the season finale coming up within less than three months. Then the next scene cut to him in his office chair, with him bending over his desk and sighing deeply.

 _Nice acting there, sir,_ Marinette smirked, taking a long sip of her coffee.

The narrator continued, “But it’s not just the older and wiser Agreste who’s carrying the stress of showbiz on his shoulders…” And the next scene panned to Adrien looking at _her_ and saying, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry.” The clip was cut, and in the next clip, he added, “That’s… all I wanted to say.” Yet another cut, a pause, a dramatic zoom-in, and his disappointed goodbye to her: “See you later, Marinette.” Immediately on top of the final clip, in bold, capitalized red lettering, were the words “DRAMA BETWEEN CO-STARS?” and underneath, in smaller fonts: “Secret Relationship Trouble?” and “Adrien’s Rebound From Chloe?”

Marinette nearly choked.

She had to carefully place her coffee mug down on the side table before she made a mess.

She sat back down, her horrified eyes glued to the screen.

The rest of the episode, aside from two or three clips of Chloe looking angry at nothing in particular, and another clip of Gabriel looking stressed, which were both pretty easy to catch and film, was about the meticulous step-by-step process of designing a miniature Eiffel Tower and a miniature Louvre for the upcoming third season.

Then, right at the very end of the episode, the edited scene between Adrien and Marinette was played again, but this time, no bold red words were stamped atop the recorded moment. The scene faded to black, with the narrator offering up in a professionally mysterious voice, “Will their relationship remain on the rocks? Or is this a simple situation that these two sweethearts can sort out? Tune in next time to witness what unfolds.”

And then it cut to the instrumental theme music again, the end credits rolling.

Marinette blinked angrily at the TV, feeling betrayed.

_The camera crew was stupid for filming and submitting that._

_The reality show writers were really stupid for creating that._

_The narrator was really, really stupid for narrating that._

_Gabriel Agreste was really, really, REALLY stupid for allowing that-_

Her phone buzzed.

She looked down at it.

It was a notification from the fanfiction website.

She unlocked her phone and checked her inbox.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Took me long enough, but I finally finished the oneshot. I’m really nervous about you reading it though.**

She took a deep breath to steady herself. Right. She’d made a deal with this boy two weeks ago about sharing private fanfictions to each other. She’d completed Chapter Two of her piece earlier on, but had waited for him to complete his work before she’d share hers. And now, here he was.

**CatGotYourTongue: I’m looking forward to reading it. By the way, did you catch the latest “Miraculous And Beyond” episode?**

Nearly one minute later, she got another notification.

**BugabooBoyfriend: No, I didn’t. I don’t enjoy that show much. Why? What happened?**

Marinette frowned at herself in the reflection of the black TV screen, then turned her attention back to her phone.

**CatGotYourTongue: You have the right idea… not watching it, I mean. I should definitely do what you’re doing.**

Only a few moments later, another message popped up.

**BugabooBoyfriend: What’s going on? What happened?**

She thought for a moment, then decided to be as truthful as she possibly could, without giving herself away.

**CatGotYourTongue: I’m a big fan of the two main actors, Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste. They both seem like good people. This latest episode exploited a conversation they had, and I have a strong suspicion that it was edited and the explanation given for their conversation was a total lie. It’s unfair that such seemingly nice actors have to deal with such nonsense. Now the whole world is gonna think they’re in a relationship, and not only that, but that they’re having relationship trouble, and I highly doubt that either of those things are happening. They must be so embarrassed.**

She let out a huff of relief. There. She’d vented her thoughts; she’d released them to a listening ear, and now she felt slightly better.

She hit the refresh button on the messaging page several times before his reply came in.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yeah, I just checked it out on YouTube. Poor Adrien. Poor Marinette. /sigh/ Fake drama’s so dumb. It’s a cheap thrill. This is why I don’t watch the reality show.**

**CatGotYourTongue: You’re absolutely right, and I’m gonna put an end to my support of it from here on out.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Just curious, though, how come tonight was your tipping point? They exploit Adrien all the time. They’re always twisting his words and manipulating his kindness to make it seem like he’s flirting with people.**

Marinette’s eyebrows shot up. She’d never considered this.

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh my word… again, you’re right. I feel pretty ashamed now.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: No! Don’t feel bad! I was just curious!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hello?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Are you still there?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’m so sorry for hurting your feelings. Please don’t go.**

Marinette forced herself out of her guilt-ridden reverie at the fourth buzz of her phone. She looked down, then gasped.

**CatGotYourTongue: Sorry! Got distracted! I haven’t left!**

**CatGotYourTongue: To answer your question, to really, truly, sincerely, honestly answer your question, I have a bit of a strong crush on Adrien Agreste, and this stupid little reality show is one way for me to feel like I’m getting to know him. Pretty crazy obsessive of me, right?**

There was no response for a while, and while she waited, Marinette went to the microwave to reheat her now-cold coffee. While the microwave blared, she invested some thought into the fact that she’d just given up her darkest secret to a total stranger on the internet.

Perhaps… perhaps that was what strangers on the internet were for. As a safety net, to be a long-distanced secret-keeper with no chance of ever revealing her truths to those in her personal life. She forcedly calmed herself down. This “BugabooBoyfriend” person seemed sane, at the very least. There was no need to worry about being judged.

_Buzz._

**BugabooBoyfriend: Well, we’re all crazy obsessive in our own special way, aren’t we? After all, the whole reason we’re talking right now is because we love writing/reading fanfiction for a cartoon show. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. But if you’re okay with me offering some insight, at the very least remember that a poorly-scripted drama-infested reality show isn’t the best way to get to know someone. I don’t mean that to offend you by any means; it’s just something that I find realistic.**

Marinette found herself smiling. He was truly _nice._

**CatGotYourTongue: But then how ELSE am I supposed to get to know him? I’ve watched all his interviews on YouTube, I’ve heard the different tones of his voice in all of his voice acting performances, etc. I’ve stared at his voice acting headshot on my desktop screen for probably hours. This crush is utterly hopeless. Don’t try to tell me otherwise.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Speaking of celebrity crushes, who’s yours?**

\----

Adrien could not sit still no matter what he tried. If he was seated, his leg bounced up and down; if he was standing, he paced.

He eventually settled for pacing - might as well use up the energy - as he typed and untyped and re-typed his response to the girl in his private messages.

He knew he was taking an extremely wild chance. He’d only known this girl for two weeks, and had only initiated a conversation with her _twice._ Perhaps she was underage. That was a very real fear. She could be a minor, and he could get himself in huge trouble. But he could always ask her how old she was a few messages down the line.

Eventually, he got so sick of reading the same drafted question over and over again that he pressed send with his eyes closed.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Do you believe in miracles?**

Then he promptly reopened his eyes so that he could read her reply, as well as make sure he didn’t bump into furniture while pacing.

He held his breath.

**CatGotYourTongue: What? I don’t know.**

He typed back, his tongue between his teeth.

**BugabooBoyfriend: You don’t believe in luck? A wishing fountain? A deity of any kind? A heads-up penny on the ground? The power of a shooting star?**

She responded very quickly.

**CatGotYourTongue: I see what you’re getting at, but… Life isn’t a cartoon, sadly. Like I said, it’s a hopeless crush. It’s silly.**

He could feel his heart racing.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Okay, new question. How old are you? I hope that doesn’t come off as creepy; I’m just curious. You sound mature in everything you write. I’m nineteen, if that evens the score a little.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I’m eighteen-going-on-nineteen, myself.**

He stared at the phone screen in slight disbelief and slight relief and slight _something else_ as he read the text. He scrolled up a stretch to read their earlier messages, then realized that he’d entirely ignored her previous question.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh, that’s cool. We’re basically peers. As for your question about celebrity crushes, I can’t say I have one.**

**CatGotYourTongue: WHAT? How? They’re all so talented and beautiful!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Honestly, they’re just people. Unattainable people, from the point of view of those who aren’t famous. Which I find very unfair.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I guess you’re right. By the way, whenever you’re ready, I have the time to read your oneshot now.**

Adrien sucked in a breath. Right. His oneshot.

**BugabooBoyfriend: It tells a really simple story. It’s not the best.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Hey, don’t panic. :) I can’t wait to read it. Ready when you are.**

He closed out of the fanfiction app, switching to his notes, and silently skimmed his work one final time. Then, with a hesitant swipe, copied the entire piece, returned to their private conversation, and pasted.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Please don’t judge it too harshly.**

\----

Marinette made herself comfortable again in the loveseat before she began to read.

It was all written in the form of scripted dialogue, which made her eyebrows raise in pleasant surprise. Just like the writers for the actual show would do it.

The actual material, however, left her confused.

**Ladybug:**

**“I live a life that’s full of fun,**

**It keeps me sharp, and on the run.**

**When evil comes, I find a way**

**To use my force, and save the day.**

**Oh, oh, oh, life’s got me spinning around.**

**Oh, oh, oh, my feet are off the ground.**

**Oh, oh, oh, and when the sun goes down,**

**You better hang around…**

**Miraculous!**

**Simply the best!**

**Up to the test when things go wrong!**

**Miraculous!**

**The luckiest!**

**The magic is on, always so strong!”**

**Cat Noir:**

**I am a Cat,**

**Just chilling out,**

**But in the night,**

**She’s all I think about.**

**I feel so strong,**

**When she’s around,**

**She picks me up,**

**When I am down.**

**Oh, oh, oh! Oh no, you’ll never know!**

**Oh, oh, oh! My love can only grow!**

**Oh, oh, oh! And when I see her smile**

**That’s when she becomes…**

**Miraculous!**

**Simply the best!**

**Up to the test when things go wrong!**

**Miraculous!**

**The luckiest!**

**The power of love always so strong!”**

**Both:**

**“MIRACULOUS!”**

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows as she reread the dialogue.

Then she scrolled down to reply.

 _Be nice, Marinette,_ she told herself sternly. _This is his first time._

**CatGotYourTongue: So it’s a poem? :)**

Barely a moment later, he’d responded.

**BugabooBoyfriend: A song, actually! In the tune of the instrumental theme music! Do you like it?**

Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped.

**CatGotYourTongue: Ohhhhhh my goodness. Are you serious??**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yeah! So… that’s a songfic, right? Did I do it right?**

She intensely shook her head out of its stupor and began typing rapidly.

**CatGotYourTongue: Dude, that’s not a songfic! A songfic is when an already-made song inspires the reader to write a story based off of it. This… THIS… is original creation! How did you even do this??? This is GOOD!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’m so glad you like it!!! :) Wow, you just made my day! Thank you! I also made musical accompaniment for some of the lyrics, since the actual theme song doesn’t fit all of it in. I can send you the link if you’re interested?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Omg YES! Yes please! I’m so curious to hear what the whole song sounds like!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: There is no singing, since I created the entire thing on the piano app on my phone, but yeah, that’s why the whole thing took me two weeks. The actual song only took me a day.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Link! Please!!! I’m dying to hear it!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Okay!!! :) The “singing” lines come in around the 17 second mark. Then at the 1 minute and 34 second mark onward, the chorus is just repeated again.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Give me just one second…**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Here you go!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: [** [ **_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppZk8N9PtcM_ ** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppZk8N9PtcM) **]**

Marinette clicked on the link, and it took her to the “BugabooBoyfriend” YouTube account. He had no subscribers, she noted.

She also noted that he hadn’t titled his only YouTube video accurately, as it simply said “Song”. He didn’t seem to want to gain any popularity from it.

She picked up her headphones from the side table, plugged them in, clicked on the video, and closed her eyes.

For the next two minutes and thirty seconds, the piano music filled her head and her heart and her entire _being_ , enchanting her and captivating her and enthralling her, until…

...It was over.

She immediately replayed it.

Then when it was over again, she replayed it a third time.

She almost couldn’t believe her eyes and ears. But it was real. It was real, and it was perfection.

A notification alerted her to the fact that she’d forgotten about the creator of the song almost entirely. She jumped back onto the fanfiction app.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hello?**

**CatGotYourTongue: That. Was. MAGNIFICENT. I feel like crying.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh my God, you like it?**

**CatGotYourTongue: LIKE it? I LOVE it. I love it so much. I feel like I’ve been made privy to one of the greatest secrets in the fandom’s universe.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Wow, now I feel like crying. Thank you. Wow. Thank you.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Thank YOU for sharing your incredible talent! With me! I’m so honored!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: It’s just for you. :) You and you alone. Consider it my thank-you gift to you for taking a chance on a conversation with one of your biggest fans.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh my God. I don’t know what to say. Now… now THIS is storytelling. A type of storytelling I could never do. The lyrics, the music… I am floored.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Would you say that... the cat’s got your tongue? ;)**

Marinette couldn’t suppress the laugh that spilled out. Nor could she do anything about the wild smile that was plastered all over her face.

**CatGotYourTongue: Haha YES. I would indeed say that. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Remember, friend, we made a deal. :) Are you by any chance done with your second chapter?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Ah! Yes! You more than deserve it! Here! Take it!**

\----

Adrien let out a delighted giggle as Chapter Two made itself available in their private chatting space.

Before he began reading, he scrolled up to reread their conversation. All of it. And as he went through it again, re-living the experiences, he was made very aware of the sudden blush that heated his cheeks and warmed his neck. He also noticed, and realized there was nothing he could do about, the _fluttery_ feeling in the pit of his stomach.

She liked him. She had, in her own words, a strong crush on him. She loved his song. She’d allowed him to call her his “ _friend"._

“I think,” he whispered, staring at her username, “I… I have something of a crush on you too."

He looked around at his little apartment, and asked aloud to the furniture, “Is that stupid?”

Of course he received no reply, and then, he smiled back down at his precious phone.

“Right,” he breathed. “It’s not stupid.”

He then shifted until he was comfortable in his spot, and began soaking up every single beautiful word of Chapter Two.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Thanks so much for all your kind reviews! I can't stress enough how much they make my day.
> 
> Enjoy Chapter Four!

Adrien had opted not to take his time with the elevator. He ran up the flight of stairs from the third floor to the fourth floor, red-faced and sleep-bedraggled.

It was almost four o'clock in the morning on a Monday, which meant he was _late_.

And Father would not be happy in the slightest if he didn’t make it in time for the daily early morning briefing.

He reached the door at the end of the round, opened it in a hurry, ran down the hallway, rushed around the bend-

-And then skidded to an immediate halt before bumping right into Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

She, on the other hand, evidently did not possess the same fast reflexes. She crashed into him.

On instinct, his hands came to her waist in an attempt to steady her.

She looked up into his eyes with an expression of mortification.

“I… I…” she began.

He winced at his bad luck. The clock was ticking, his time was running out, and now he’d literally been nearly toppled over by the one person in the workplace who constantly did her best to avoid him.

“Sorry,” she spluttered. “I- late. I’m- I’m late. I was… late. I- Sorry. So sorry.”

“No, no, it’s fine-” he let go of her sides and took a tiny step backward, hoping that she would do the same in the opposite direction.

But for some reason, her eyes were beginning to look watery. “I didn’t- I mean, sorry. You- the reality show, and- I’m _sorry_.”

Realizing in horror that she was about to _cry_ , Adrien shook his head as understanding dawned on him. He raised his hands and waved them in the air in a placating gesture. “No… Marinette, it’s fine. The reality show… is stupid. They make up stupid stuff all the time, it’s no big deal-”

She interrupted him and continued to stammer in what could only be described as unintelligible consonants and vowels, each broken apart with no meaning.

He gaped at her, unable to comprehend anything.

Then her eyes grew more resolute, and a single, silent tear trickled down her left cheek, and she stubbornly tried again.

“No. It is a big deal. And I’m very sorry.”

She took a deep, shaky breath, wiping her tear away, frowning at his chest.

For his part, he’d forgotten about the early morning briefing.

Marinette _spoke_ to him? A legitimate sentence? And… she was _apologizing?_

Hope hammering in his chest that perhaps he’d pegged her wrong, he took a step forward.

She took a step backward.

“Um,” he started. “It’s completely okay. We’re all victims of the show, one way or another.” He barked out a nervous laugh. “After all, we’re in this together, right? You and me, co-stars?”

For the love of _God,_ what was he saying? Might as well hold her hands and start singing Kumbaya in this hallway, while he was at it.

But her big, blue eyes turned upward at him again, and she nodded silently.

He paused, feeling awkward, and realized she wasn’t going to speak, so he felt like he had to keep going.

“Reality TV is poorly scripted, anyway. I don’t watch it much.”

More silence. More staring.

“I…” He could feel the uncomfortable heat rising on his face. _Curse_ his inability to keep a conversation with this girl going.

“Adrien! Marinette!” Out of nowhere, an intern - her name was something like Ella or Alya or the like - appeared, grabbing both their wrists. “You guys are late!” she cried. “Mr. Agreste is freaking out! He’s threatening to fire me! Come _on_!”

She dragged them both down the hallway and into the conference room.

“Here they are!” she exclaimed, then turned on her heel, slamming the door behind her before anyone could say anything.

His father had his arms crossed and was glaring.

“You’re both late.”

Marinette offered a meek apology while looking down at the floor, walked past Adrien, and slid into her seat.

Adrien sighed.

“Sorry, Father. We got sidetracked. We were both on our way over here and-”

His father lifted a hand up to silence him. “Just get in your seat so we can film this morning.”

He obeyed, taking his spot beside Marinette.

He tried glancing over at her, but she had buried her face into her script.

“Cameras rolling in five…”

\----

**BugabooBoyfriend: Chapter Three was even better than Chapter Two - if that’s even possible! I’m obsessed with the fact that Ladybug is finally blushing around Cat Noir. Ahhhhhhhh! Now if only the actual show could do something like this! Thank you, a thousand times over, for writing this!**

**CatGotYourTongue: I’m so glad you’re enjoying the story! I’m enjoying coming up with it, so thank you for that push! And yeah, the whole “will-they-or-won’t-they” trope is getting a little out of hand. I wonder if in the final episode of Season Two, there will be a kiss?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I wish! But if we want to be realistic, it’ll probably finally be that long-awaited origins plot that all the fans have been begging for.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I suspect that too. But hey, it’ll be cool to finally canonically find out how Ladybug and Cat Noir became superheroes, right? And how they got their powers?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Betcha they were born with their powers. Behold: the most boring origins story ever presented. Copyright: Agreste Productions.**

**CatGotYourTongue: LOLLLLL. But you know that saying that goes some people are born with greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You mean you theorize that they weren’t born with it?**

**CatGotYourTongue: It’s just my theory. Considering how long we’ve waited for the origins episode, the writers can’t be THAT lazy.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You should be one of the writers on their team.**

**CatGotYourTongue: And you should be in their music & sound effects department! Like holy moly. The show would definitely benefit from your lyrics in the theme song in Season Three. If only.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Thanks :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: Hey, do you mind if I vent about something in my personal life real quick?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Go for it!**

**CatGotYourTongue: Okay, thanks! So, I’m an absolute piece of garbage. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: What??? Nooooo, you’re not haha!**

**CatGotYourTongue: I’m dead serious, dude. I’m the most socially inept, awkward, bumbling fool I’ve ever known. And even that’s an understatement.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: What happened?**

**CatGotYourTongue: I don’t feel comfortable sharing, but I just needed to dish out my thoughts of myself to someone I trust.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Well, I’m glad you trust me. And you are NOT socially inept. Or awkward. Or a bumbling fool.**

**CatGotYourTongue: How could you know? I may be smooth while writing, but in person, it’s a totally different story.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You do have a point. I don’t actually know you personally. But I know enough to be able to say that you don’t deserve to call yourself garbage.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Thanks, friend. I appreciate it.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Don’t mention it. Anytime.**

\----

Later on in the week, at their next group gathering in the green room - there were several scenes with the entire voice acting cast put together for the latest episode they were working on - Gabriel introduced Nathalie, the company’s social media representative and perpetual scowler.

Once she had everyone’s attention, she droned for nearly ten minutes about the importance of appearances and the domino effect between the fans’ approvals and Agreste Productions’ success in future endeavors.

“And so,” she continued monotonously, eyeing the voice actors from behind her glasses with a totally joyless expression, “It has come to my department’s attention that some service to our loyal viewers would do all of us some good. We as a company have booked ourselves into the schedule for a couple hours at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con-”

Every young adult in the room perked up.

“-And we expect your utmost cooperation and enthusiasm to pander to the general public at this convention in order to maintain, and hopefully boost, our ratings.” She trailed her eyes through the crowd of voice actors again, then nodded curtly. “Thank you.”

“Well, _that_ was a rousing speech,” Chloe muttered to Sabrina, who snorted.

“Thank you, Nathalie.” Gabriel stepped forward to address the group. “Everyone, make sure to check your emails for further details. Remember that anything enclosed by Nathalie is an _instruction,_ not a guideline. The convention is in three weeks. Now, take five.”

The voice actors all turned to one another and began buzzing with new energy.

“Can you believe it, Marinette?” Max grinned at her. “We’re going to Comic-Con! Not as fans… as _celebrities_!”

“Yeah,” she said softly, smiling back at him. “This will be my first time ever going.”

“You’re kidding!”

On the other side of the group of people, Adrien high-fived Nino.

“Dude, this is gonna be totally legit.” The tan-skinned young man spoke excitedly.

“I know!” Adrien beamed. He then lowered his voice. “I can’t believe my father agreed to this.”

“Why not?” Nino shrugged happily. “After all, it _is_ publicity. Fanservice, and the fans. There’s nothing quite like those two worlds colliding, you know what I mean?”

“Yeah…” Adrien said wistfully, his thoughts returning to his online friend. “I know what you mean.”

\----

**BugabooBoyfriend: No fair!**

**CatGotYourTongue: I KNEW you’d say that. How did I know? Hahahahaha!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You can’t leave Chapter Four on a cliffhanger! I’m gonna die!**

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh, you’ll live.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Easy for YOU to say. You’ve already got the entire story up there in your brain!**

**CatGotYourTongue: /sticks out tongue at you/**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /grumbles/ Oh, put that back in your mouth, you shameless creature.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Hahahahahaha.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Pleased with yourself, huh?**

**CatGotYourTongue: You betcha.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Well, I’m about to one-up you. Guess who’s going to the Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug & Cat Noir panel at Comic-Con? :D**

**CatGotYourTongue: OMG! Which one??**

**BugabooBoyfriend: The one in San Diego! In two and a half weeks!**

**CatGotYourTongue: YOU’RE LYING.**

**CatGotYourTongue: OH MY GOD.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I’M GOING TO THAT PANEL TOO!!!!!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: OH MY GOD WHAT?! ARE YOU SERIOUS???**

**BugabooBoyfriend: HELLO????**

**BugabooBoyfriend: WHERE THE HECK DID YOU GO????**

**BugabooBoyfriend: NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO VANISH**

**CatGotYourTongue: SORRY I’M BACK I WAS JUST SCREAMING**

**CatGotYourTongue: BECAUSE I CAN’T BELIEVE WE’RE BOTH GOING TO THAT PANEL**

**BugabooBoyfriend: WANNA MEET UP???**

**CatGotYourTongue: Ahh, shoot. :/**

**CatGotYourTongue: I do, I really really do, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to :/**

**CatGotYourTongue: It’s hard to explain**

**CatGotYourTongue: But I’ll be really busy that day while I’m there**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh. Are you an employee of Comic-Con, or helping out, or anything like that?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Yes! I am. I’m an employee at Comic-Con. I’ll actually be working at that panel while the cast of the show do their thing up on stage. That’s how come I’ll be able to watch. But I won’t exactly be able to be social while I’m doing my job.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Aw man :( It would be so cool to meet you…**

**CatGotYourTongue: Yeah, it really would be awesome to meet you too..**

**CatGotYourTongue: Hello? Did you go?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Nope! I was just thinking…**

**CatGotYourTongue: ?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Well, if you have even a moment of time during the 15 minute break between the panel talk and the meet & greet, I’ll be the blonde guy cosplaying as Cat Noir.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Okay. I should be free during that 15 minute break.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I’ll be the dark-haired girl cosplaying as Ladybug.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Well, aren’t we inventive?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Haha shut up!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Honestly, how revolutionary of us.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Yeah, we’re pretty dumb.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: We are.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: So… what’s your name? That way I can call you out among undoubtedly the hundreds of Ladybugs.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I’m so sorry, but I’m not comfortable sharing my full name on the internet.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: No, no, I completely understand! I’m actually hesitant to do the same myself.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hmm...**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’m thinking that we could just bring signs with each other’s usernames written on them.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Perfect idea. I agree.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Okay! :) This is happening!**

**CatGotYourTongue: This is happening. Wow.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Wow!**

**CatGotYourTongue: I take it you live in California?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yeah, you too?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Yeah. Wild.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I gotta go, I have a bunch of stuff I have to get done, but I’m super excited to meet you in person! Even though I’ll have to be in costume the whole time and then I’ll have to rush off before the 15 minutes is up to get back to work.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You have no idea how excited I am to meet you. :) Talk to you later friend!**

\----

_AgresteMail_

_Thursday_

_From:_ **_julekacouffaine_ **

_To: all_

_To everyone in absolutely any department here at Agreste Productions,_

_My girlfriend Rose and I are in quite the conundrum. Our sweet calico, Princess, mated with some alley cat, and now we have six kittens on our hands. Some are black, some are orange, and one is calico. Please, feel free to swing by the fifth floor in the animators’ department to see them if you’re interested in adoption. I’ve already been granted permission from Mr. Agreste to keep them together in a cardboard box by my cubicle throughout the daytime until work hours are over. Please, for the love of all that is holy, swing by and keep one if you fall in love. Rose and I CANNOT handle more than one cat in our house._

_Sincerely and stressfully,_

_Juleka_

\----

Adrien whistled on his way to the fifth floor of the building. It was an exciting Friday. A new episode of “The Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug And Cat Noir” was to premiere that evening, there was only a week and a half left between him and the girl behind the “CatGotYourTongue” username meeting up at Comic-Con, and for the first time ever in his life, he was going to have a pet.

He pushed open the door to the animators’ department, and was instantly met with cheerful greetings. He smiled and waved back at everyone. He really liked the animators’ department. Most of them were college students; they were all hard workers.

“Hey guys,” he looked around. “I’m here for… Juleka’s kittens?”

Everyone pointed toward the back.

He chuckled and made his way past cubicles and office desks and monitors to get to the end of the room.

“Adrien!” Juleka, who’d been kneeling down by a box, brushed her hands on her knees and stood up, smiling at him. “Long time no see. How’s the voice acting slash physical acting?”

He took one of her hands and shook it firmly. “It’s full of surprises, like always. How’s the animating?”

“Full of surprises,” Juleka laughed. “Like always. I take it you’re here to see our last kitten?”

“There’s only one left?” Adrien’s eyebrows shot up.

“Oh, they were gone fast. Here’s the last little one.” She gestured toward the box by her side.

Adrien knelt down, looked into the box, and...

...His heart instantly melted into a puddle of goo.

 _“Mew,”_ a tiny black kitten with bold green eyes blinked up at him.

Adrien couldn’t help it - he giggled like a child.

“Hey there, you. Nice to meet you,” he found himself whispering.

“It’s a male,” Juleka added from behind him.

Adrien couldn’t stop staring at the tiny creature in awe. “You’re so _cute_.” He shook his finger in front of the kitten, and was delighted that it batted at him playfully.

“So do we have ourselves a new kitty owner here?” He could hear the smile in her voice, but he was too preoccupied to turn around. Without taking his eyes off the baby cat, he nodded.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Congratulations, Adrien. You’ll love every moment.”

And as he scooped up the kitten and hugged it close to his chest, he knew it to be true.

\----

Marinette had decided to take the stairs back down to the third floor rather than the elevator. All of a sudden, now that she had a _kitten_ to care for, the idea of subjecting the poor creature to a scary moving cart that she had no control over did not sit right with her. The stairs were much better.

“Isn’t that right, baby?” she whispered at the calico kitten in a hushed, lullaby voice. “The stairs are so nice.”

_“Meow.”_

Marinette laughed. “Yeah, that’s right, you cutie. You’re a smart one, aren’tcha? You know when I’m talking to you.”

_“Meowww.”_

“Mhmm, we’re almost home…” Marinette opened the stairwell door and entered the hallway, right as the elevator door on the other side began to open.

Out walked Adrien with a tiny black kitten.

The two human beings stopped in their tracks, still holding their kittens, and stared at each other.

There was dead silence between them for an electrifyingly long moment.

_“Mewwww.”_

Marinette and Adrien both glanced down at the little black creature in his arms. 

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Adrien whispered to it.

Then the calico kitten started mewling as well.

And just like that, the hallway was filled with the sounds of the two kittens crying.

“Uhhh…” Adrien made an awkward chuckling noise. “Are you a first-time cat parent too?”

Startled, Marinette looked up from the kitten in her arms to him. “Y-yes. Um. You?”

 _He_ looked startled that she’d _answered_.

“Yeah,” he said slowly.

She could feel her eyebrows twitching. _Must escape. Must get out of here. Must go into apartment. Yes. Apartment is good-_

“Have you picked out a name for yours yet?” He asked above the meowing.

She shook her head, dumbfounded that he was continuing to talk to her.

“Oh,” he nodded. “Oh, okay. Yeah. I, uh, I think I’m gonna name mine Plagg.”

The kitten in her arms had its claw stuck to her shirt collar, and she gently tried to get it unstuck. She frowned when, just as she had gotten it detached, the kitten got its other paw’s claw stuck on her button hook.

“Crap,” she muttered in a low voice, fumbling very carefully with it.

“Uh…” Adrien was _still_ standing there. “Yours is… really cute.” He shifted his balance from one foot to the other. He scratched his own kitten behind its ears. Then he motioned with his head toward her kitten. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Girl,” she blurted without even realizing. She then blushed - immensely.

“She’s adorable,” he offered her a small smile.

Nervously, she tried to smile back, but it ended up showing too much teeth, like she was grimacing.

Adrien’s smile remained on his face, but his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“Well, I’ll just be going to my apartment now,” he said, and began backing away.

She nodded dumbly. “Yeah.”

“We should let our kittens have a playdate sometime though!” Adrien said as he reached his door.

Again, she nodded, as if she couldn’t remember how to demonstrate any other action _besides_ nodding to save her life.

“See you Marinette,” he said, then opened his door and cast her one last confused glance.

In that fraction of a second, something within her snapped.

“ _Tikki!_ ” she all but shouted at him, as the kitten in her arms began to reach for her right pigtail. “Her name is... Tikki. It’s Tikki, Adrien. Yours is cute too. Yes, we should definitely do a playdate. I’m… sorry. I’m so sorry I can’t figure out how to treat you like a normal person.”

As soon as the words were out, she gasped.

The initial shock on Adrien’s face gave way to a very warm smile.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he took a step forward again, letting go of his doorknob. He eyed her up and down for barely a moment, then caught her eyes again. “You’re just shy, I think. Right? Are you shy?”

Now there was that _stupid_ nodding of hers again. God, what was the matter with her?

“I’m so glad you don’t hate me,” Adrien let out a laugh in relief. “I thought for sure- I mean- I honestly…” His voice trailed off.

Marinette was frozen in place, still nodding.

Resolutely smiling at her, Adrien took four decisive strides toward where she was standing, erasing most of the space between them. She could only stare up at him with a mixture of awe and fear on her face. Still smiling, he balanced his kitten on one arm, and squeezed her shoulder with his free hand.

“I want to be friends,” he said sincerely. “Would you like that, too?”

Marinette squeaked.

Undeterred, he laughed. “Was that your kitten?”

Taking his graceful save, she managed to let out a quiet, “Yes.”

“Yes to the question about the kitten?” Adrien’s eyes danced. “Or yes to the question about being friends, Marinette?”

She stammered a little, but again, a coherent “Yes” was spoken, and he thankfully caught it.

He rewarded her with a megawatt smile for her successful attempt. “ _Awesome_.”

His kitten was mewling again, so he chuckled and pointed toward his door. “I better let this little one get to its new litter box. Or maybe he’s hungry or thirsty. I’ll… talk to you later, friend.”

He walked away from her, reached his door, looked back, and smiled at her again. “Tikki’s a great name,” he said. “You picked good.” He then went inside. The door behind him closed.

Dazed, Marinette looked down at her own little kitten; her little Tikki.

She stood there, holding her pet in the hallway, for quite some time.

\----

**BugabooBoyfriend: Chapter Five. Was. Amazing. Everything, from the conversations between Ladybug and Cat to the battle scene, were just straight out of my happiest dreams. I can't believe they KISSED! /flails/**

**CatGotYourTongue: I'm so relieved you like it! I was worried at first that the sudden kiss was too out-of-character.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: No, it was PERFECT!**

**CatGotYourTongue: Just wait till the next chapter. It gets fluffy. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**

**BugabooBoyfriend: By the way, I happened to stalk your bio on your profile, and I noticed that your birthday is the Sunday after next. What would you like for a present?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh my gosh, you don't have to get me anything! You're too sweet! Don't worry about it, your friendship is gift enough :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: C'mon now. You can't toss that cliche over my way and truly BELIEVE I'll be satisfied with it. I'm getting you a present. Whether you tell me what you want, or not.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I suppose it'll be fun getting surprised. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Okay then. :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: The new episode airs in thirty minutes! I can't wait!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: SAME! Wanna watch it together? Like when it premieres, we can both sit on our couches and watch and occasionally text?**

**CatGotYourTongue: DUH! I need to be able to squeal with SOMEONE throughout everything.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Perfect! Hold on, I'm gonna go heat up some pizza rolls.**

**CatGotYourTongue: And I'm gonna brew some coffee. Eeeeep! I'm ecstatic! Today's a really good day :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Me too! And yeah. :) It really is. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!
> 
> To those who may be interested: I have a brand new Tumblr! You'll find me under "chelpixelart" :) Feel free to check out my art!
> 
> Enjoy Chapter Five!

“My Lady! The Akuma must be in her belt!”

“Good thinking, Cat Noir. Could you give me a boost?”

_“Cut!”_

Adrien and Marinette stopped and turned their heads toward their director, confused.

“No, no, no, _no.”_ Gabriel stepped down from his chair and stood. “It’s not _‘COULD you give me a boost’_ , it’s _‘GIVE me a boost!’”_ He slammed his fist down into the palm of his other hand. “Put a little more oomph into it, Ladybug! You’re not the savior of Paris for being polite to your partner!”

“But-” Marinette frowned.

_“Yes?”_

She closed her eyes and suppressed a sigh, trying not to get frustrated. They’d practiced this scene literally a dozen times now, and nothing seemed to be making her boss happy today. He’d never complained about this precise line in all their attempts of filming it, until now.

“But,” she repeated emphatically, “The script actually _says_ ‘could you give me a boost’. Not only that, but my character and Cat Noir seem to have things under control in this scene. It’s not like they’re down to their last devices. The question about being given the boost could be interpreted as a friendly, or even flirty, suggestion. If performed right, it could actually be… cute.”

Now that she’d released her thoughts, her natural embarrassment and nerves returned to her, jolting her system and bringing on a blush to her face. She looked down, shocked that she’d spoken so much.

But Adrien stepped forward. “She’s… she’s right, Father,” he spoke, his voice lilted strangely. “The characters- they could actually _both_ flirt for once. This little piece of dialogue could be a turning point for the show.”

Gabriel stared at his son for a moment as if he’d grown a second head, and then sighed dramatically. “You both want a turning point for the show? _Fine._ I’ll give you all a turning point.” He turned toward the cameramen. “Everyone, take six. I’m going to make some adjustments to the script.” With that announced, he stalked off.

Marinette jumped down from the prop she’d been standing on to fetch herself a bottle of water. Drained of nearly all her energy, she drank the entire thing.

“That was a good idea,” Adrien said from behind her, and water dribbled down her chin.

She hurriedly wiped her mouth on her motion-capture costume’s sleeve before turning around to face him.

“Thanks,” she said, panicked. “I- I didn’t- I just- I mean-”

He exhaled air from his nose in a humored, good-natured way and patted her on the shoulder. “Seriously, Marinette, you’re brilliant. It’s about time Father got a clue that the unrequited love angle can turn stale. I’m bored, you’re bored, the fans are bored… it’s _miraculous_ we haven’t all _bugged out_ on this show, wouldn’t you say?” He chuckled at his own pun for a moment, before sighing, self-satisfied, and smiling at her.

Marinette did not know how to respond to this.

He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow at her, still smiling. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re really intense?”

“Wh-what?” She blinked several times. _Now_ words were finding their way out of her mouth. Also: _what the heck did he just say._

“I meant what I said, and I said what I meant,” Adrien replied calmly. “You’re a very intense girl, Marinette. I mean, your _eyes._ Whenever you stare at me like that, I almost get a little freaked out.” He smiled so brightly at her that she did not know what to think. “I’ve figured out overtime that that’s just the creative, actress’s soul within you coming out on its own accord.”

If she tried to talk, she would blubber, so she stayed wise and kept silent.

“I mean, when you’re in Ladybug Mode,” Adrien continued, _“Man,_ your eyes take on even more depth. They pierce, Marinette. Your eyes absolutely pierce through everything.”

He shrugged, almost as if to himself. “Such is the way of show business. We’ve gotta entertain, and you’re good at what you do. Thanks again for talking sense into my father.”

He patted her on the shoulder again, completely relaxed, and walked toward his own chair to drink from his own water bottle, humming the cartoon’s theme song.

Marinette stared after him, bewitched.

Somewhere in the green room, she heard the familiar footsteps and hand claps of Gabriel.

“All right, everyone.” The man spoke into his megaphone. “The script has been updated. Marinette, Adrien, come here and memorize it, for God’s sakes. We’ve included a kiss scene. So if I hear one more complaint about the dialogue, I don’t care if it’s on my bloody hands; someone’s getting fired. _And I don’t care who that someone is.”_

Marinette watched the way Adrien froze during his father’s announcement.

He’d been twisting the cap back onto his water bottle, but now he stood, wide-eyed, staring at the far wall across from him, his hands suspended in midair.

Then - while she could actually _hear_ her heartbeat in her ears - she saw him lower the water bottle, and saw the small smile that appeared on his lips, briefly, then disappeared right back into a cool, calm, collected poker face line.

She whirled around so that no one could see the staggered expression on her face.

 _I imagined that,_ she decided immediately. _There’s NO way-_

“Marinette, Adrien, for the love of _mercy!”_ Gabriel’s voice in the megaphone made her jump. “We’re all waiting on you two!”

Somehow, she managed to complete the journey all the way across the room to where her boss stood and was tapping his foot. She did not pay any attention to her co-star, who stood right beside her. If she ended up doing so, she was afraid she’d lose consciousness; or worse, _stammer._

A copy of the revised script was disposed into her hands.

She jerked her head down to read it.

She memorized it in a state of rush.

The script was taken away from her.

She was then pushed back toward the prop she’d been standing on during the actual scene.

Adrien joined her.

“Cameras at the ready…”

_Oh. OH. This is happening NOW._

“And…”

_OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGodohmy-_

“ACTION!”

Adrien grabbed her by the shoulders, as if he’d just made the discovery that they’d rehearsed thirteen times now. _“My Lady!_ The Akuma must be in her _belt!”_

She was faintly aware of the fact that she was responding to him. The sentences themselves flowed out seamlessly and solemnly, all-business and no-nerves. “Good thinking, Chat Noir. Now what we need to do is create a distraction if we want her to think we’re not onto her.”

“A distraction? Like what?” Adrien turned this way and that, looking around for such.

The sound effect of a roaring akumatized villain was played, along with several crashes and screams, and Marinette forcefully grabbed the sides of Adrien’s face. “No time!” she cried, her entire face heating up. “Just play along, okay?”

And then, she lurched forward, closed her eyes, and crashed her burning lips onto his.

And all was silent.

After a moment, his lips molded into hers. She squeezed her shut eyelids more tightly.

Her thumbs, which were right on his jawline, began to tremble.

 _Desperately_ afraid that the errant action would be noticed, she tried to cover it up by stroking the sides of his face.

He turned his head slightly more to the right and suddenly, his hands were closed tightly around her wrists.

Feeling light-headed and fluttery in the stomach, she gingerly took a step closer to him.

“And… cut!”

Her eyes popped open. Adrien released his hold on her wrists first and her lips second, an audible parting sound from their separated mouths reverberating the air between them. She shakily took a step back and blinked up at the studio lights overhead.

Gabriel was clapping… happily for once. “Excellent, _excellent!”_ He nodded approvingly from his seat. “That was perfect! No need for it to be redone!” He pointed to one of his co-writers, who was also in the sound effects department. “Pierre, my interjection toward the end of their kiss must be erased from the audio of the actual episode.” He turned toward the camera crew. “Did Camera Number Four pan out from the scene, above their heads? Did it?”

“Yes, sir!” someone responded.

Gabriel looked pleased. “Good. My vision of it all is for the kids to kiss, the villain to stop and stare, then, as Adrien already demonstrated, for Cat Noir to step away, and for everything around them to go to shambles, right before Ladybug whips her yo-yo out and attacks the villain in the midst of said villain’s confusion over everything that just transpired.” He clapped again. “Excellent _work_ , everyone! We’ll complete the rest of the scene after lunch break. But at the very least, the kiss - the _turning point,_ as the kids called it - is done.”

His phone began to ring.

He stood, turned around, brought his phone to his ear, and walked off. _“Nathalie._ I swear, I’m the saving grace of this entire production…”

Head spinning, Marinette glanced Adrien’s way.

He noticed, and returned her glance, smiling as if nothing had happened. “Great acting.”

She nodded, suddenly very aware of how dizzy she felt. “You… too. I uh, gotta go. Bathroom.”

Without waiting for a response from him, she jumped down and hurried off, all the way into her dressing room, closing the door firmly behind her.

Releasing a giant lovesick sigh, her back slid all the way down to the floor.

\----

**BugabooBoyfriend: Favorite color?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Pink. Yours?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Black. Your turn.**

Adrien lazily petted his kitten, Plagg, while he waited for his friend’s next question. They’d been at it for hours, and despite the fact that he should’ve been in bed a while ago, he couldn’t bring himself to put an end to the conversation. Not when they were learning so much about each other, and actually sharing _personal_ facts about themselves.

**CatGotYourTongue: Number of immediate family members?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Two, counting myself. And you?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Three, counting myself. I’m an only child.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hey, same here! Hmm… what’s your favorite genre of music?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Rock & roll. You?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Same here, actually. Who’s your favorite?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Ever heard of Jagged Stone?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Who HASN’T heard of Jagged Stone? I’ve been to one of his concerts!**

**CatGotYourTongue: Whoaaaa, nice!!! :D My respect meter for you has inched up.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Merely “inched”? You wound me.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh, get over yourself. Considering you’ve got a username like YOURS, that should be pretty easy.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /gasp/**

**CatGotYourTongue: LOL LOL LOL LOL**

**CatGotYourTongue: Who’s turn is it?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’ll go ahead. What’s your day job?**

As Adrien waited for her response, he placed his phone down and picked Plagg up, giving him a kiss on the nose. He then put him back down, rubbed him all the way down his spine, and was delighted that the kitten lifted his rear end and swished his tail in a happy manner.

“Good boy,” he murmured. “You’re such a good boy, yes you are.”

_Ping!_

He grinned and lifted his phone.

**CatGotYourTongue: It’s too weird to describe, honestly. So forget about me. What’s YOUR day job?**

That was... truthfully an odd way to avoid his question.

He stared at the message, deep in thought.

He’d gotten to know this girl well enough to know that she had obvious barriers in place between them. Barriers to prevent him from finding out who she really was. Which, technically speaking, he should be agreeable with, for his own sake. After all, what would she do if she ever found out that he was Adrien Agreste, her once-mentioned _crush?_ Sure, there was a chance they could actually fall in love and live happily ever after, but there was also a very real possibility that she’d either 1) not believe him and get extremely creeped out and block him and never message him ever again, or 2) believe him and get extremely embarrassed and ashamed and block him and never message him ever again.

He carefully typed out a nonthreatening response, then hit send.

**BugabooBoyfriend: It can’t be any weirder than my day job. I entertain people for a living.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yeah. It can get super ridiculous at times. People are demanding.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Demanding to work for, or work with?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Ha! Both.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Hmmm. So you’re a guy, with a weird demanding entertainer job? Are you………… a stripper?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: ...Would you stop being my friend if I told you yes?**

**CatGotYourTongue: ...No.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Well, that’s good to know. Hypothetically speaking, of course. Because… I’m definitely not a stripper.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Hey!!!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hahahahahaha! You should’ve seen the look on your FACE!**

**CatGotYourTongue: This is a private chatting room! YOU can’t even SEE my face!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I didn’t have to, to know what it looked like! HAHAHAHAHA**

**CatGotYourTongue: Jerk.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You know, your username is extremely appropriate for times like these. But that’s just too easy. Way too easy of a pun.**

**CatGotYourTongue: What is WITH guys and puns???**

**BugabooBoyfriend: There’s another pun-loving man in your life? /endless gasp/**

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh for the love of God…**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You’re… CHEATING on me?**

**CatGotYourTongue: I’m gonna avoid every single cosplaying Cat Noir at Comic-Con.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /lip quivers/ What we had was special… what we had was… truly beautiful…**

**CatGotYourTongue: Please stop.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: And here you are, listening to the jokes of another mister! Tell me, please, I beg of you, is his wit sharper? Is his thought process quicker? Are his puns just FUNNIER to you???**

**CatGotYourTongue: -_-**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Please forget all about him and take me back.**

**CatGotYourTongue: So CLINGY. Geez.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You know you love it ;)**

**CatGotYourTongue: Yeah, yeah. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: The elusive lady SMILES!!!!!!!!**

**BugabooBoyfriend /drops down to knees/**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I simply cannot hold off any longer…**

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh boy, here we go.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: “CatGotYourTongue”, I don’t care about your constant dry humor and your terrible, terrible infidelity. I love you, and I must spend the rest of my life with you. So, will you marry me?**

**CatGotYourTongue: /stares at you/**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /stares back at you with hope/**

**CatGotYourTongue: ...Only if you promise to compose our entire wedding soundtrack with your genius music skills.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /jumps up and spins you around/ IT’S A FREAKING DEAL!**

**CatGotYourTongue: /gets spun around/ Oh, great. I’m getting spun around.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: We must kiss!!! I declare it!**

**CatGotYourTongue: Wait, we’re getting married NOW?**

Adrien laughed aloud. Hard.

He laughed so hard that his body convulsed.

He hadn’t laughed so hard in a very long time.

Wiping tears away from his eyes, he proceeded to type again.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yes. :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: /sighs forever/**

**CatGotYourTongue: Fine.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /puckers up/**

**CatGotYourTongue: /puckers up/ /leans in/**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /kisses CatGotYourTongue/**

**CatGotYourTongue: /breaks away and screeches/**

**BugabooBoyfriend: ??? ...WHAT’S WRONG**

**CatGotYourTongue: YOU BIT ME**

**CatGotYourTongue: YOU… YOU... HORRIBLE KISSER!!!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: No! Come back! I won’t do it again! I promise!**

**CatGotYourTongue: /running away/ YA WEIRD KINKY FREAK**

Adrien cackled so hard he fell over on one side. Plagg, unbothered, walked away several feet away from him, sat down in a new spot, and began licking himself.

Adrien clutched at his sides, straining and gasping and wheezing. The tears made their comeback. His shoulder shook against the floor as he continued to giggle almost mercilessly, as if he couldn’t bring himself to care about the shooting pain in his abdomen.

Once he finally settled down, he grabbed the phone.

**BugabooBoyfriend: I literally just rolled on the floor laughing. I almost got a bloody nose from the strain.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Omg! I’m laughing over here too, but don’t get a heart attack and DIE on me!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Haha no promises, being around someone like you! Literally everything you type is pure gold.**

**CatGotYourTongue: That would be such a sweet compliment to receive if I wasn’t imagining you with a bloody nose right now.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Hey… I hate to cut this short, but I work early hours, so it’s gotten pretty late for me. Do you mind if I head to bed?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Not at all. Good night :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: Good night! Sweet dreams!**

Adrien smiled fondly at the username on his bright screen. For a crazy moment, he imagined himself sending her a selfie of himself smiling, but he stopped himself from allowing that thought to travel any further down the rabbit hole of his mind.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Sweet dreams to you too!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Once again, I did NOT create the music that Adrien links to Marinette via private message!
> 
> The song was beautifully performed by the YouTube channel "SophiiVA".
> 
> I hope you enjoy Chapter Six, and I can't wait to read your reviews! They keep me going. :)

Marinette’s nineteenth birthday came and went.

It was a quiet affair; she spent the entire Sunday with her parents at their house. She introduced them to her kitten, caught up on their drama with the relatives, warded off every embarrassing question regarding her male coworkers and whether she liked anyone at the moment, and blew out a single candle from a chocolate cake with pink frosting. It was a happy reunion. She realized, regretfully, that she didn’t visit them nearly enough, and vowed to herself to fix that.

In between gardening in the backyard with her mother, competing in a myriad of video games on the sofa with her father, and playing on the living room floor with Tikki, she found herself checking her phone more times than she was willing to count.

Each time, when she saw that she had no new notifications from “BugabooBoyfriend”, she inwardly reminded herself that he had a life of his own, and that he was probably a very busy person, and that there was no way he was ignoring her on  _ purpose. _

By nightfall, as she kissed her parents goodbye and thanked them for the fun day, she came to the conclusion that he’d simply forgotten her birthday. She got into her car, carefully made sure that her cat carrier’s door was locked, fastened her own seatbelt, and checked her inbox one last time, just in case.

Nothing.

Irritated with herself for expecting something more than silence, yet at the same time confused that her birthday had evidently escaped his memory, she allowed herself a single sigh of disappointment. And as soon she did, she shook her head to dispel the feeling.

After all, it was no big deal. It wasn’t like he was her best friend in the whole  _ world, _ or anything.

Her face crumpled slightly.

She turned the key into the ignition and began backing her vehicle out of the driveway.

Arriving at Agreste Productions twenty minutes later, she used her key card to swipe access into the entryway of the lobby, nodded at the night-shift receptionist, Mylene [who hadn’t noticed; she was far too busy flirting with Ivan, one of the animators], and pressed the button to the elevator. It took her up to the third floor, and she opened the door to her apartment. She placed the cat carrier on the floor and unlocked it, releasing Tikki, who made a mad dash for a feather toy that was underneath the loveseat.

Marinette changed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth, downed a cup of water, and then frowned at herself in the bathroom mirror.

_ “Gah!” _ She covered her face with her hands and unleashed an embarrassingly sad groan. She then parted her fingers to peek out at her own reflection.

“It’s no big deal, girl.” She shook her head, then nodded, then shook her head again. “He’s just a stranger, after all. Yeah. Just a really nice stranger… who didn’t remember your birthday. No big deal at all.”

Frustrated with herself, she raised her hands up in a self-questioning gesture.

“What is  _ with _ you, Marinette?” She glared at the girl in the mirror. The girl glared back. “He’s  _ not _ a big deal. He’s-” she barked out a dry laugh. “-a  _ guy, _ for crying out loud. A random guy with a bad memory and a really stupid username. He doesn’t even  _ know _ you; not really, anyway! Don’t let this get to you! Don’t let this bother y-”

_ Buzz. _

Marinette shrieked and immediately grabbed at her phone on the edge of the sink. It slipped from her hands and she just about performed a wild fireside-style dance to keep it from crashing onto the floor. Finally, both her hands gripped its sides, and she closed her eyes and exhaled for a second.

She then straightened, unlocked the phone, and the brand new notification - the beautiful, beautiful notification - took her directly to her fanfiction account’s private messages.

The message was from “BugabooBoyfriend”.

A radiantly wide, ridiculously relieved smile graced her lips as her eyes raced through every word.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hey! Hey, you! Yes, you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!! The HAPPIEST of birthdays to you!!! AHHHHHH YOU’RE NINETEEN! Now we’re not just “basically” peers, we ARE peers! You’ve caught up with me, you young’in, you. Madam, I know you hate it when I get all sentimental ;) but this friendship started out with me giving you sincere compliments, and by God if it’s not going to remain that way! You, my dear friend, are a LEGEND. You were an exciting turn of events in my ho-hum life of crippling consistency. You were a plot twist - truly the GREATEST plot twist ever. You are a breath of fresh air. A story that’s written differently, every single time it’s attempted to be read. An enigma. A work of art. A thought-provoking sentence in the book called Life. A brilliant human being. And a fantastic, phenomenal, irreplaceable best friend. Thank you for messaging me back the first time you did. I’ll forever be grateful. I’m sorry it took me until NOW to send you this message, but you see, Part One of your present had me occupied all freaking day. And yes, I did just say Part One ;) You’ll get Part Two at Comic-Con. Now, back to Part One. Do you remember what you said when you were encouraging me to write my oneshot??? You said, and I quote, “In my experience, music helps. You’ve got this!” [Yes, I did happen to scroll all the way up our chat conversation to find that exact quote. Don’t @ me] SOOOOO anyway, I’ve noticed that you haven’t written a new chapter, or any other fanfic, for that matter, in a little while. I wasn’t sure if you were just taking a healthy break, or if you’d run into writer’s block, but I wanted to give you something that could hopefully inspire you. It’s a little something I came up with in my head and composed on a computer software. I imagine a really sweet, romantic scene between Ladybug and Cat Noir everytime I listen to it, and I hope it’ll give you the same butterflies it gives me. And if it doesn’t inspire you at all, that’s perfectly fine! It can also be used to help you relax and fall asleep after a long day of work [whatever your job may be]. For goodness’ sake, look at me rambling. I’ll just go ahead and send you the link now. Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, madam. :) Hope your day was as lovely as you are.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: [** [ **_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WPETeKcreg_ ** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WPETeKcreg) **]**

Marinette slid down and sat, right then and there on her bathroom mat, and clicked on the link, which transported her, once again, to his Youtube channel. A second video titled “Happy Birthday” popped up. She touched the screen, and waited.

A pattering of rain filled the room, and then, the gentle sounds of a music box began to play in an arrangement that emulated a lullaby. She closed her eyes and clutched the phone close to her ear, listening to every sweet instrumental note.

All too soon, the little song was over, and she hugged her phone to her chest for a moment, trying to catch her breath.

With unsteady fingers, she typed out a response.

**CatGotYourTongue: I’m so close to tears right now. This is the sweetest present anyone has ever given me. I can’t believe you MADE this. Well, I CAN believe it, of course; you’re extremely gifted, but the fact that you made it for ME… I just… I don’t know what to say. The cat has truly got my tongue at the moment. :,) “Thank you” seems too simple and meager a phrase to offer you right now. I wish I could give you a hug. You’re a fantastic, phenomenal, irreplaceable best friend too… I mean that. Really and truly. I’m SO glad you messaged me way back when. And I thank the stars above that I responded. Thanks for making the night of my nineteenth birthday one that I’ll always cherish.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’m so glad you love the song. I wish I could give you a hug too.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Friend?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yeah?**

**CatGotYourTongue: /hugs you/**

**BugabooBoyfriend: :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /hugs you back/**

**CatGotYourTongue: Name??? What is it?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Wait, my name? Or the song’s name?**

**CatGotYourTongue: The song’s name.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh. It’s still undecided, but I’m kinda thinking maybe “In The Rain.” You can name it whatever you like, if you don’t like that title.**

**CatGotYourTongue: No. “In The Rain” is perfect. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’m glad. :) Well, I better get to sleep now, if that’s okay with you.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I should too. Thanks again, so much, for everything. Sweet dreams!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Sweet dreams.**

\----

“According to my calculations,” Max declared, raising his calculator so that the group could see, “The drive from Hollywood to San Diego will take us approximately two hours and thirty one minutes.”

“Uh, your ‘calculations’?” Chloe rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah. Okay. According to the  _ GPS _ on all our  _ smartphones, _ it’ll only take us two hours and  _ fourteen _ minutes.”

Max glared at her, placing his hands on his hips. “Well, is your precious global positioning system taking us through I-5 South? Because it failed to note that there’s  _ road blockage _ due to construction on that route.”

“I wish there was road blockage between you and me so I wouldn’t have to hear you spout _math_ _equations_ literally all the time.” Chloe said briskly, turning her hand over so that she could study her fingernail polish.

“That’s  _ enough, _ you two.” Nathalie narrowed her eyes at both of them. “For the sake of appearances,  _ please, _ play nice. Today’s a big day for the company.”

The voice actors were all crowded together beside the private bus that Gabriel Agreste - who wasn't coming - had rented for the day. Each actor carried with them a duffel bag or two. One by one, behind-the-scenes crew members took the luggage off their hands and placed them in the bus’s storage compartment. The reality show cameramen filmed every little thing as much as they possibly could; they weren’t coming along with the group to Comic-Con either - much to their own chagrin, and to the acting cast’s mutual relief.

Adrien tapped on Marinette’s shoulder. She jumped slightly, but with the awareness that the world would be watching this moment, she turned to look straight at him as boldly as she could.

“What’s up?” she asked in a forced cheerful tone.

He grinned at her, and for the millionth time in her life, it caught her off guard just how  _ beautiful _ his smile was. She was determined not to humiliate herself in front of the camera crew, however, and was  _ definitely _  not intent on feeding them any more fake drama. So she mustered up a smile in return.

“I’m so excited about Comic-Con, you wouldn’t even believe it,” he breathed, his green eyes bright and full of energy. “How about yourself? Is there anything you’re looking forward to?”

Marinette nodded. “Yeah.” She lifted a hand up toward the cameras surrounding them, then abruptly brought it back down to her side. “The… fans. I’m excited to… meet the fans.”

His smile somehow grew even more delightful, from her adoring perspective. “Me too, Marinette. Me too.”

The door to the bus opened, at long last, and the paid-for driver shouted, “All right kids, hop on in! It’s field trip time!”

Nino walked past them and patted Adrien on the shoulder. “Save you a seat, bud? Or… do you want to sit with Marinette?” He pushed his glasses further up his nose and nodded in a friendly way at her.

Adrien paused to think, and Marinette held her breath.

He then shrugged. “You know what? I’ll sit with you, Marinette. After all, we’re friends, right?”

The cameras seemed to be staring her down ominously, waiting for her reply.

“Yeah, of course,” she said, hoping she sounded as calm to him as she did to her own ears.

She silently rejoiced when he threw an arm around her shoulder and walked with her to the bus door.

Two years’ worth of professional acting was finally doing her some good in the  _ real _ world.

They climbed the steps up to board the bus, and Adrien led the way down the aisle to the very back. Heart pounding, Marinette followed.

He gestured with an outstretched hand for her to sit down first, and she did so, right next to the window. He settled down beside her.

Nathalie performed a quick headcount, eyes darting down to her clipboard once she had recorded everybody’s presence. It reminded Marinette of her school years, and she turned to Adrien to tell him.

“Doesn’t this feel like middle school all over again?”

His head shot up. He’d been on his phone. “Huh? Oh, no; I was homeschooled my entire youth.”

_ This _ was news. “What?” Marinette stared at him. “Really?”

His lips twisted up into a smile. “Yeah, I know, right? Pretty lame.”

“That’s not what I-”

He chuckled. “No worries, I  _ know _ it’s kinda sad. What’s sadder is that Father didn’t even take the time to homeschool me himself. He hired a private tutor.” He shrugged. “It wasn’t too bad, though. Her name was Miss Bustier, and she was basically a mother figure during my teen years. She’s an angel, and I respect her to this day. In fact, she’s the one I entrusted my kitten to for the day.” He stopped and looked thoughtful. “Who’s babysitting  _ your _ kitten?”

Marinette blinked rapidly as she tried to process the information overload that Adrien had just dumped over her head. “Uh…” She forced herself to remember his actual question. “Oh! My kitten? Tikki? My… parents. They… yeah.”

He cocked his head to the side in a  _ “makes sense” _ mannerism, as if she didn’t just sound like the most inarticulate idiot in the world. “Hey, we still need to give those cats a playdate sometime in the future. I’m sure they’d love that. I know for a fact Plagg would; he loves being around others. He’s super social.”

Despite her nerves, she smiled a genuine smile. “Tikki is too.”

“And we’re off!” The driver called to the group from the front.

The bus started to move.

Marinette pulled her travel-size earbuds out of her pocket and unraveled them.

Adrien pointed. “Hey, mind if we share? I’m so sorry to ask; it’s just that I just realized I forgot my own headphones. But if you’d prefer not to-”

“Yes,” Marinette said immediately. “I mean, no! No. Of course I don’t mind.”

“Cool.” He smiled warmly. “Thanks, Marinette. So, what genre are we listening to?”

Suddenly inexplicably insecure about her music tastes, she halted. “Um… I mean…. You can pick the first song, if you want. We can switch off.”

“Okay!” He agreed. “May I?”

She handed him her phone, and he went straight to the iPod app, scrolling down.

He let out a low whistle. “You’ve got every album of Jagged Stone on here!” His eyes roamed the screen, then looked back up at her, impressed.  _ “Nice.” _

She flushed. “Y-yeah, I kinda love him.”

“I  _ really _ love him.” Adrien’s thumb hovered over the song selection. “Wanna just do a Jagged Stone marathon for the whole bus ride?”

She nodded, almost unable to believe her marvelous luck today.

He ended up deciding on “Spikes In The Station”, and stuck one earbud in his ear.

Marinette placed the other one in hers, and the two of them leaned back in their seats. She watched him close his eyes, fully absorbing himself in the song, and she copied him, closing her eyes as well.

\----

They made one stop for lunch at a shopping plaza.

Everyone dispersed and scattered to the restaurants of their own choosing.

Because Adrien and Marinette sat at the very back, they were the last ones out of the bus, and thus were left alone together when they finally made it outside.

He looked down at her. “So… what are you hungry for?”

Marinette scanned the options in front of her. “Kinda craving a salad,” she admitted.

“I want a burger,” he decided. “So let’s just find a place that serves both.”

He began walking toward the plaza, and Marinette bashfully followed closely behind.

Once inside the actual shopping area, they passed by dozens of different shops - one of them being a pet store.

Adrien stopped in his tracks, backed up a bit, and peered into the window of the store. He then shifted to look apologetically at Marinette. “I’m sorry, I know it’s feed-our-stomachs-time, but I kinda wanna buy something for Plagg. Real quick.”

“No problem!” Marinette shook her head, hoping her voice sounded assuring and not too enthusiastic. “I’ll… get something for Tikki too. Why the heck not, right?”

“Right!” He beamed. “Let’s go.”

They went inside and headed straight for the section with the sign “FELINE FRIENDS” hanging overhead. Marinette walked slowly down the aisle, eyeing the different toys and accessories, until she heard Adrien laugh. She whirled around to look at him.

He was poised in a crouch, holding a little black collar with a big golden bell attached to it. He shook the collar, and the bell chimed. He looked up at Marinette and laughed happily again.

_ “Look at this!” _ His eyes sparkled. “Isn’t this  _ cute?” _

His laughter was contagious, and Marinette giggled beyond her own control, going back and forth between staring at the collar and staring at Adrien. “Adorable,” she concurred.

“It looks just like Cat Noir’s bell.” He stood up. “This is  _ perfect.” _ He nodded at her. “What are you getting?”

She looked back toward the shelves in a hurry. A little red collar caught her eye.

She grabbed it.

“It doesn’t exactly have ‘Ladybug’ written all over it; there are no black spots or anything cool like that, but it’ll have to do.” She dangled the collar between her finger and her thumb to show Adrien.

He nodded approvingly. “Now our kittens can cosplay. Plagg’s is way better than Tikki’s though.” His eyes took on a teasing glint.

“Oh,  _ totally,” _ Marinette laughed. “I’m not gonna argue with you on that point.”

The teenagers made their way to the cash register, and a girl who looked utterly bored out of her mind rang them up. She chewed on her gum loudly, smacking it and then blowing a bubble. “Your total’s nineteen dollars and thirty cents.”

Adrien fished out a twenty dollar bill from his pants pocket.

“Wait-” Marinette tried to protest, but he winked, immobilizing her.

“I got this one. You can owe me at a later date, friend.”

“Oh- okay.” She smiled at him, and  _ hoped to God _ that it didn’t look weird or overly happy.

“Do you need separate bags?” The cash register girl’s dull voice cut through their interaction, and Adrien turned back to her.

“Yes, please, ma’am. Thank you.”

They walked out of the pet store carrying their purchases, and Adrien beckoned with his head toward the end of the plaza. “They probably have a place with burgers and salads down there.”

\----

As Marinette put another forkful of lettuce into her mouth, her phone buzzed.

She was currently waiting on Adrien to get back from the men’s restroom, so she had enough time to check her messages.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Can’t wait to see you today. :) I’m traveling with company, so I don’t have too much availability at the moment, but I just wanted to message you and check up on you.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I can’t wait either! And same here. I’m doing good. You?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’m doing great!**

**CatGotYourTongue: Prepare yourself. My cosplay is gonna rock. your. world.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh, I’m prepared. The question is, are YOU? I tried my Cat Noir costume on last night, and it fits me so well it’s actually a little frightening.**

**CatGotYourTongue: LOL you’re so self-obsessed.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: No, I’m serious! It looks so good!**

**CatGotYourTongue: Picture?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I… shockingly forgot to take a picture of myself in-costume, so you’ll just have to see it in person today.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Aw, okay. See you soon, friend!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: SEE YOU SOON :D**

She put her phone down right as Adrien re-emerged. He sat down at her table, picked up his burger, and took a big bite. His hands were dripping wet, she noticed.

He noticed that she noticed. “No towels in there,” he explained mid-bite.

They ate their food quickly and quietly, and then once finished, they stood up, pushing their chairs in. Adrien threw their trash away. Marinette held the door open for him, and the two headed back toward the parking lot where the bus waited.

\----

Once everyone was back on board, Nathalie did another headcount, and then nodded at the driver, who started up the bus.

"Woohoo!" Nino shouted with his hands cupped around his mouth. "We're halfway there to _Comic-Con!"_

Everyone else from the middle of the bus to the front hooted and cheered alongside him.

As Jagged Stone's opening guitar riff in his song "Crocodile Teeth" began to play in their ears, Marinette gazed out the window and Adrien closed his eyes.

With upside-down nerves, she thought mainly about the fact that she was spending the day seated next to _him._

With tightly-wound anticipation, he thought only about one thing: the fact that today was the day he was going to meet _her._

And without either one noticing, the two of them smiled, as the drumbeat that pounded in synch with their hearts blared into their ears.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold, the awaited COMIC-CON CHAPTER!
> 
> Disclaimer: I have never been to Comic-Con. For the sake of this story, just please believe my attempted portrayal of it.
> 
> Hahaha without further ado, enjoy! :)

Adrien was all but bursting at the seams by the time the travel bus was finally, finally, _finally_ parked in the lot of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel.

His first thought was on his duffel bag in the storage compartment, wherein his Cat Noir costume was folded and waiting for him.

His leg bounced up and down.

His forehead had accumulated sweat.

The air around him felt too thick, too heavy, almost suffocating, almost death-gripping.

He wanted nothing more than to _get off this vehicle._

“Welcome, everyone, to the looming skyscraper of a hotel that you’ll call ‘home’ for the evening,” the bus driver boomed into the microphone up at the front of the bus. “This place is thirty sweet floors up into the heavens; yes, you heard me right, kiddos; thirty stories, yes indeed. This beautiful bayfront hotel is pretty much directly adjacent to the location of the San Diego Convention Center, which of course is basically the main reason why you’re all here, and-”

Nathalie stood up abruptly and cleared her throat. _“Ahem.”_

The driver paused, then slowly lifted up his microphone again, and said, “Have a safe, fun adventure out there, kids.” He then pushed a switch, and the bus doors opened.

 _Oh sweet glorious day,_ Adrien thought.

He turned to grin at Marinette - and was startled to realize that she was asleep, with her face pressed up against the window in what looked like an extremely uncomfortable position.

He hovered his hands above her shoulder for a second, then brought them down to shake her gently.

“Marinette,” he whispered.

She let out a little snore.

He shook slightly harder. _“Marinette,”_ he repeated. “Marinette!”

 _“Huh?”_ She lifted her head up, instantaneously cracking her neck in the process, and gaped at him, looking completely disoriented.

The sight would’ve made him laugh under normal circumstances, but he was so eager to get himself off the bus that he grabbed her by both shoulders and shook her again.

“WE MADE IT.” His eyes took in her appearance, going down, then back up. Her shirt sleeve had fallen down, baring her left shoulder. Her pigtails were nearly falling out. There was dried drool on her chin. “Marinette, we’re _at the hotel.”_

“Oh…” she blinked slowly once, then blinked several times in swift succession, and proceeded to rip the earbud that had still been in her ear out. “Oh! _Oh!”_

He let go of her, relieved, and nodded. “Yeah! Come on! Let’s grab our bags and go!”

\----

The interior architecture of the hotel was, in a word, luxurious.

Opulent chandeliers hung several yards apart under every ceiling. Abstract art stood out on so many walls and sculptures graced so many corners that Adrien briefly wondered if they’d arrived at a museum by mistake. The further down the halls they went, the bigger and flashier the decor seemed to get. There were, apparently, several “main” lobbies. At one point in their journey, larger-than-life windows and life-sized mirrors had been strategically placed on walls exactly opposite of each other to give off the appearance of endless outdoor views. Pops of color were everywhere and gorgeously adorned laurel galore.

Nino nudged Max, grinning from ear to ear. _“Dude._ This place is _massive!”_

“I think I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Sabrina crooned to Chloe.

Adrien looked to his side at Marinette, whose mouth was parted in a little “o” shape as she took in the grandness of the room they were currently passing through.

He smiled to himself.

Nathalie, who was leading the way up ahead with loud, clacking high heels, checked her everpresent clipboard and gasped. “You all need to pick your rooms and roommates for the night as soon as humanly possible.” She sounded alarmed. “Drop your bags in there, change into something presentable, and do it _fast;_ the ‘talk time’ portion of the panel is in less than thirty minutes!”

As the voice actors began to quicken their pace, she added, “Hurry! Time is money, and money is success!”

“This lady’s been taking notes from my father,” Adrien muttered as they began full-on running down the halls.

It was by pure luck they didn’t lose their way between the vast number of doors on their floor. Chloe’s sharp eye caught the correct set of numbers for their rooms, and Nathalie fished out three identical room keys from her purse.

“Alright,” she exhaled, exhausted. “Grab your roommate and grab a room key. Now.”

Nino nodded at Max. “You packed the video game console, yeah?”

Max nodded back excitedly. “And brought _two_ controllors.” He grabbed one of the key cards held out between Nathalie’s fingers and walked forward toward the door.

Nino pumped a fist, hissed _“Sweet!”_ and followed him.

Chloe tapped on Adrien’s back, successfully getting his attention, and batted her lashes at him. “Oh, _Adrikins…_ we’re gonna have such a _fun_ night together.” She smiled at him, widely and wildly. “But can you grab the room key, love? My hands are full.” She puffed out her bottom lip in a pout.

“Oh.” Adrien blinked at her. “I, uh-”

 _“Wait,”_ Sabrina jumped into the space between them, looking double-crossed. “I thought you and _I_ were gonna room together, Chloe. Remember?”

“We were?” Chloe lifted her nose up. “No, I can’t say I recall.”

“But- but-” Sabrina’s eyes began to water.

Nathalie sighed, aggravated. Her hand was still holding out the two key cards.

Adrien did not know what to do.

Marinette spoke up. “I’ll just… take my room key, Nathalie.” She brushed past Adrien, giving him a polite, crooked, awkward little smile. “You guys can… figure out who’s rooming with Chloe, and whoever’s left over can put up with me for the night.” She plucked the second card from the woman’s fingers, head down, and unlocked her door.

“Chloe… I thought we were gonna paint each other’s _nails._ And talk about _boys.”_

“Sabrina, for the love of God. I was _joking_ about all that. Surely you underst-”

“You were joking? How were you _joking?”_

 _“We’re going to be late.”_ Nathalie’s voice sliced through the air like a knife, causing everyone to turn their heads. “I am _not_ losing my job over this. Adrien.” She nodded her head toward the open door that Marinette had unlocked. “In there. Now. And _you_ two ladies, in _there._ Third door. Take your key and go.”

Adrien hurried into the hotel room after Marinette, his duffel bag smacking his legs. Chloe was on the verge of a diva tantrum, and he did _not_ want to be around for it. Once he’d closed the door behind him and turned around, his eyes widened.

“...Wow.”

Their hotel room was actually a suite that resembled a magazine-styled home. To his right was a kitchenette with an island and a bar area, to his left was a spacious walk-in closet, and up ahead was a living room with beautiful furniture.

“Uh… Marinette?” he called out, unsure of how thick the walls here were.

All the way across the open floorplan, she poked her head out of a slightly cracked door. “Yeah?”

He halted. “Um… how many bedrooms do we have?”

“Two. The one I’m in right now is mine.”

He relaxed slightly.

One of the many, many differences between Chloe and Marinette was that the former would have demanded that they not only share a room, but share a _bed,_ and the latter was incredibly respectful about personal space. She seemed to thrive best when he kept, at the very least, three feet of distance between them.

He found his way to the second bedroom, put down his duffel bag at long last, noted that he and Marinette shared a private bathroom in between their rooms, locked all his doors, and took his shirt and pants off to change into a fresh pair of clothes.

Once dressed appropriately for the convention, he zipped his duffel bag, picked it up again, checked to make sure he had his phone and wallet on him, and walked out of the room.

Marinette was waiting, leaning against one of the couches with a giant, heavy-looking gray purse on her arm.

She straightened up when he entered, and with a shared little nod, the two headed for the door.

\----

The group arrived at their designated panel _just_  in the nick of time, bursting from behind the black curtains into the room and walking up onto the stage calmly as if Nathalie hadn’t nearly suffered a conniption two minutes prior to that moment when they’d thought they were eternally lost amidst a “My Little Pony” autograph station and the Disney Princess cosplayers’ photo booth.

Adrien led the way up the stage, grinning and waving, and the crowd went nuts.

Marinette followed after him, blushing and smiling shyly, and all the Ladybugs in the room started chanting her character’s name.

Chloe catwalked fiercely, and men of all ages bowed.

Nino pumped both arms up and down in the air, and many a fangirl copied him.

Max did a little dance, to everyone’s delight.

Sabrina trailed behind, and right as she got to her seat, she impulsively twirled around like an adorable child, and everyone _awww’_ d.

Once the actors were all seated, the panel’s host, who introduced herself as Nadia Chamack, pressed a button on the device at her podium, and the cartoon’s instrumental theme music began playing. “Who’s ready for a _miraculous_ time at Comic-Con?!”

The screams of the fans were deafening.

Nadia laughed and held out her microphone toward the crowd, and their noise somehow grew _louder._

The voice actors all giggled at their enthusiasm.

Once everyone had quieted down considerably, their host dove into her obviously-rehearsed speech about Gabriel Agreste, his visions and ambitions, and the record-breaking, successful decision of his to transform his simplistically animated cartoon into a full-blown live-action motion-capture project that had changed the way supporters viewed both the show and animation in general. She then went on to show some footage from the reality show “Miraculous And Beyond” to remind the crowd about just how much hard work went into creating it all.

And once that spiel was over with, she turned to the fans in the crowd themselves. A microphone, under the watch of a body guard, was passed out so that people could submit their own interview questions to the cast. Each actor got one question at a time, which ended up spanning the group an entire forty minute’s worth of little conversations. Oddly enough, none of the questions were about the cartoon; but rather, the reality show half of the equation. There were inquiries, such as “Are the motion-capture costumes itchy?”, there were odd requests, like “Nino, do you mind flexing your biceps for my wife?”, and then there were interrogations.

“Adrien, is it true that your heart is torn between Chloe and Marinette?”

He handled this by clearing his throat, leaning forward, and saying, “We’re all completely platonic, entirely unromantic coworkers who do our best to provide entertainment for you all. My heart isn’t torn, it’s well-placed. On… one girl in particular. And… she’s not up on stage with me, so… that probably answers your question.”

The whispers and murmurs that arose from _that_ disclosure were not lost on him, and he couldn’t help his blush - or the way his eyes scanned the throngs of fans in front of him, searching for a paper sign with his private username on it - as he digested the fact that he’d just subtly confessed his actual feelings to the entire world.

The entire world, yes, but the actual girl he was currently looking around for? She had no clue whatsoever. _No_ clue that he was the boy behind the silly username that she constantly made fun of and gave him grief for. _No_ clue that he was her famous best friend. _She did not know that he was the guy she talked to on the internet._

The whole situation was so bizarre.

“And… that’s all the time we have for questions today!” Nadia smiled. “The next fifteen minutes will be devoted to freshening up, resting your head, stretching a little, and of course, bathroom breaks. For those who have their tickets with them for the meet and greet, make sure to show an employee - they’re the ones with the green lanyards and name tags - and get into an organized, fair and square, single-file line to the left of the stage. As for the rest of you, thanks for coming, and we hope you thoroughly enjoy the rest of your time here at Comic-Con!”

The theme music started playing again, the voice actors smiled and waved, and everyone applauded uproariously.

\----

Once she was all by herself behind the safety of the curtains, Marinette wrapped her arms around herself and frowned down at her shoes.

So, Adrien had feelings for someone else.

Surprisingly, though she _was_ feeling melancholy, she wasn’t quite as bothered as she thought she’d be at this news. It made sense, after all. He was out of her league; she was beneath him in every level of the _game._ He was… Adrien, and she was… Marinette. It made sense.

That didn’t make it any less depressing, but at the very least, she was proud of herself for behaving realistically. She wasn’t going to cry. Not now, nor later.

She clenched her jaw in determination.

_Atta girl, Marinette. Breathe._

She was going to do what the next fourteen minutes could allot: put on that Ladybug costume, march into that room, hold that sign, and meet her best friend ever with the stupidest username ever for the first time ever. That would not only make this whole trip to San Diego worth it; knowing him, it would cheer her up like nothing else could.

Grabbing her huge purse from underneath the snack table she’d used to protect it, she made her way to the private ladies’ room that was meant solely for the cast of the show.

Upon total certainty that every stall was empty, she hurriedly took off her clothes and just as hurriedly slipped into her Ladybug costume, zipping up the back with a bit of effort. She pulled her spotted mask out of her purse and strapped it to her head, successfully covering nearly half of her face. Last but not least, she took out the little brown cardboard sign that had **BugabooBoyfriend, A.K.A. My Favorite Stripper** written in black permanent marker over it.

She checked the time - she only had about ten minutes left - and decided to just lock her purse into one of the stalls before dashing out of the bathroom, edging her way against the far wall until she was past the curtain and on the public side of the room, and dodging away from Nathalie, who was clacking her heels in her path.

Thankfully, Nathalie didn’t recognize her.

She fought her way through swarms of people, feeling very small and squishable as many of them elbowed past her.

Once she finally found herself in the center of the room, Marinette held up her sign, circled around in a slow three-sixty, and waited with baited breath.

\----

Two more minutes passed on the digital clock of the projector screen, and Adrien grew anxious.

He was decked out in all black leather, from the boots to the mask itself, and his red-and-black polka dotted sign that openly read **CatGotYourTongue: A Weird Kinky Freak’s BFF** was held high.

Perhaps she was on the opposite side of the room? He’d already walked all the way around the place.

Maybe she was closer to the stage? He got on tiptoes and squinted toward the front, where the line for the meet and greet had already started forming.

When he’d been a young child, sitting in on his father’s meetings, the adults had kept him quiet in the corner by providing him with a “Where’s Waldo?” book to stare at. He’d spent what felt like countless hours just _looking_ at each page, hunting for Waldo.

This was like that, except that Waldo had been replaced with Ladybug, and Ladybug was actually a real-life girl whom he felt very real feelings for, and _that_ game had been fun; this was not.

This was getting worrisome.

So he took on a new approach.

“CatGotYourTongue!” he shouted. Several people turned to stare at him. Desperately, he looked the other way and tried again, waving the sign above his head. _“CatGotYourTongue!”_

He heard snickering from other cosplayers. Of _course_ they were mocking him. He sounded like an absolute buffoon.

He could almost feel the clock ticking.

Deciding that standing on his tiptoes was getting him nowhere, he pulled a stray chair from the middle aisle, dragged it toward what seemed closer to the center of the room more than anything, and he jumped atop it, raising his sign all the way up above his head with both hands.

 _Please,_ he internally pleaded, _please, please, please see me._

“Hey! Hey, you!” A young man with a green lanyard approached him, pointing. “I’m gonna have to request for you to get off the chair.”

The snickering grew louder, from all sides of the room.

Adrien slowly lowered the sign, all the way back down, then swallowed the lump in his throat and did as he was told.

“I’m sorry, sir,” he said. “It won’t happen again.”

“See to it that it doesn’t,” the man frowned at him, and picked up the chair. 

Adrien watched him carry it away, then glanced down at his sign.

He sighed forlornly.

He’d stayed up last night cutting little black circles from construction paper and then gluing them, one by one, onto the red sheet. He’d chosen to write the ridiculous title in bold black calligraphy, and he’d been so happy about it, too. He’d been excited.

Maybe… maybe an emergency had come up? Maybe it had, and if so, he wouldn’t be able to know; he’d left his phone in his duffel bag in his haste to reach her in time. He debated internally whether or not he should go fetch it. What if, while he was gone, she was searching for him? What if, by the time he was back, she was gone?

What if…

What if…

...What if she wasn’t here at _all?_

\----

There were only six minutes left of the fifteen-minute break, and _now_ Marinette was truly tempted to cry.

This felt like an extreme game of hide-and-seek… only the game wasn’t enjoyable in the slightest.

She _knew_ he was in here somewhere; she just knew it. There was no way he would ever stand her up. She was confident in their friendship. It was honestly the only thing in her personal life she could be confident about at _all._

And so, with this truth in mind, and with desperation in her heart, throwing all dignity to the trash, she shouted the only name of his she knew.

“BugabooBoyfriend!” She rose up on tiptoes; not that it helped any. “BugabooBoyfriend!”

She looked this way and that, silently begging him to hear her.

_“BugabooBoyfriend!”_

\----

“BugabooBoyfriend!”

Adrien snapped his attention toward the sound, but his eyes saw only strangers.

_She’d called out his username._

He’d absolutely, positively, without a doubt, heard her call out his username.

So where was she?

_“BugabooBoyfriend!”_

He laughed out of pure relief, stuck his sign between his arm and his ribs, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted, _“I can hear you!”_

There was a pregnant pause, in which panic and doubt bubbled up within his stomach once more, but then he heard the beautiful question.

“Where ARE you?”

She sounded close. Extremely close.

So he shouted louder than she had. “Where are YOU?”

He waited.

“I don’t _know,_ but I swear to God-”

His eyebrows shot up at the sudden realization that the voice was coming from _behind_ him.

“-if I have to shout your stupid freaking username _one more time,_ I’ll-”

He whirled around, and saw the back of a petite girl in Ladybug garb with her hands cupped around her cheeks.

“-personally _hack_ your _account_ and change the darn thing _myself!”_

All coherent thought utterly gone from his mind, he tapped her on the shoulder, and she jumped and turned, startled.

They came face to face,

And then,

Very slowly,

They lifted their signs up to their chests as confirmation.

_“Attention, everyone: there are five minutes remaining before the meet and greet. I repeat, five minutes remaining.”_

Adrien didn’t know who dropped their sign first. But both signs were suddenly on the floor.

And then both his arms were enveloped around her.

And both her hands were digging into his back.

He laughed into the hair on the top of her head.

She giggled into his chest.

 _“Hi,”_ he breathed.

“Hi,” came her muffled response.

He pulled away, just enough, to be able to look at her.

“You look… just like Ladybug,” he said, and she laughed so loudly that it made his heart flip-flop. Oh, what he would _give_ to hear that laugh everyday.

“You look exactly like Cat Noir, yourself.” Her voice was bold, teasing, sweet, and lovely.

He cocked his head, beaming at her. “So, I’m a handsome devil, you think?”

She rolled her eyes, and even _that_ simple action did wonders to his being. _“You_ think.”

 _“Harsh,”_ he chuckled, and used his hands on the small of her back to pull her back in for another hug.

She held him even more tightly than before, and everyone else in the room disappeared for a moment.

He spoke. “I can’t believe this is real life.”

“I know.”

“I can’t believe, I mean- _we’re here.”_

“We’re here,” she repeated, little happy laughs punctuating each word. “We’re here, this is us, this is real. Not a fanfiction.”

 _“Not_ a fanfiction,” he echoed, resting his cheek on her head.

“Your sign is perfect, by the way.”

“So is yours.”

 _“Pfft._ Mine is from a cardboard box and was scrawled on with a sharpie. _Yours_ has… I’m pretty sure I saw glitter?”

“Mm, just a touch.”

“Well, I adore it.”

With that said, she was the one to pull away this time - she slid her hands down to his forearms, so as not to let go of him altogether, despite the elapsing minutes.

“I have to go, like, pretty much now.” She sighed deeply. “I’m so, so, _so_ sorry.”

His heart caught in his throat, and he gripped her upper arms. “Please wait.”

“You have no idea how sorry I am. I legitimately _hate_ my job right now. I wish I could spend the rest of my day with you.”

“There’s so much I want to tell you,” he pleaded, in near-anguish. “There’s so much I want to talk about.”

There was something so hauntingly familiar about the way she stared up at him, even with the mask covering the corners of her eyes. It almost felt as if he’d somehow known her in a previous life.

“I’m sorry…” she pulled further away.

“Wait, please, _wait!”_ He unzipped the left pocket in the front of his costume as quickly as he could to fish out a little bracelet. Sighing in relief that she’d waited, he held it out for her.

“A lucky charm, just for you,” he explained. “Ladybug uses her ‘Lucky Charm’ for good. You can use yours for whenever you’re wishing for miracles.” He sucked in a small breath, then smiled at her. “Happy birthday, part two.”

She wrapped her hand around the bracelet, then stepped forward and gave him one final, fierce, fast hug, before letting go and promising, “I’ll message you tonight. I love you, friend.”

Once more, he wanted to say, “Wait”... he outstretched his hand, but by the time it was up in the air, she’d backed away and vanished into the crowd.

\----

“What do you mean, you don’t want to play video games tonight? Are you ill?”

Adrien shook his head - in suppressed amazement - at his friends.

“No, guys, believe me; I’m not ill.” He patted both Max’s and Nino’s shoulders. “I just really, _really_ wanna rest up this evening after that long convention. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah, so, rest up by doing a face-off with whichever one of us is the winner after every other level on Ultimate Mecha Strike III,” Nino smiled hopefully. “You’re always a challenge to beat.”

“Yeah!” Max chimed in. “C’mon, man, this game will totally relax you.”

Adrien smiled in what he hoped looked like a weary, tired way. “I’ll make it up to you guys, I promise-” he watched them visibly deflate “-but I really should get some sleep. I’m sorry.”

“Aw, okay.”

“We get it, bro. No need to apologize.”

He pulled the two of them in for a quick group hug. “Thanks. Have fun kicking each other’s butts without me.”

\----

Marinette paid for her third favorite salty snack from the vending machine - her first and second picks were unavailable - picked it up, and began speed-walking back to her suite.

Enroute, she was stopped by Sabrina and Chloe - who were in a one-piece teal swimsuit and a pink bikini, respectively - and was asked what she was doing.

“Um, I’m just gonna go back to my room and read.”

Chloe scoffed. “Ha! Boring. _Figures_ you’d do something sad like that with your free time.” She flipped her ponytail. “Sabrina and I are going to the pool."

“That’s very nice." Marinette shifted from foot to foot distractedly.

Sabrina offered her a tiny smile. “Would you like to join us, Marinette?”

“Um…” she racked her brain for a believable enough excuse. “I would love to, Sabrina; thank you for the invitation, but-”

“But you’d rather get to the _sweet, sweet plot twist_ of whatever _book_ you’re reading than to enjoy the _pool_ like a _normal_ person.” Chloe smirked and shrugged elegantly. “Whatever, girl. Do what makes you happy, I guess?” She grabbed Sabrina’s arm and dragged her away, laughing loudly.

Relieved to be rid of her, Marinette took the opposite route to rush back to her door.

\----

Adrien settled down into his bed for the night with his phone in his hands, alert and ready.

\----

Marinette made herself cozy in a sea of white covers and pillows, adjusted herself until she had achieved her maximum comfort level, and then unlocked her phone.

\----

**CatGotYourTongue: Hey. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hey, you. :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: God, I’m still SO sorry about how short our first meeting was today. I work a really crazy job that’s insistent on a “perfect schedule” to keep things running smoothly.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Madam, stop that right now. I don’t care about that. I’m just so happy we found each other.**

**CatGotYourTongue: ugh ME TOO! Everyone was everywhere and I was turning around in a million different directions looking for you!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh, I can top that. I got yelled at for standing on a CHAIR for you.**

**CatGotYourTongue: NO.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: YES. People were pointing and staring.**

**CatGotYourTongue: omg!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Not to mention it looked a /little/ silly to be dressed up from head to toe as Cat Noir and screaming “CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE” at the top of my lungs. I mean, my God, it was madness.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Yeah RIGHT! Try cosplaying LADYBUG, the picture-perfect image of a dignified superhero, and yelling the horrendous words “BUGABOO BOYFRIEND” over and over again. Yeah. I definitely win this round of “Who’s The Loser”.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I'm sure we looked like total nincompoops to everyone around us. Screaming back to back, holding tacky signs with even tackier words on them.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Believe me, I know.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Look at us. We humiliated ourselves for the sake of friendship. :,)**

**CatGotYourTongue: /rolls eyes for five billion years/**

**BugabooBoyfriend: :D**

**CatGotYourTongue: Also, thank you. So much.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You’re welcome!!!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Wait. What for, exactly?**

**CatGotYourTongue: For my lucky charm bracelet. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh, that. :) Don’t mention it.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I WILL mention it, SIR. I will mention EVERYTHING. First and foremost, I love the red string… that was a nice nod to Ladybug… and the pink and purple and yellow beads… beautifully random, just like your soul… and the MAIN ORNAMENT. The green bead with the engraved petals!!! That one’s my favorite piece in the bracelet. I love my lucky charm.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Awwwwwwwwww :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You really do like it :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: Of course I like it! I like everything you make!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Right back atcha, Miss Future Famous Author.**

**CatGotYourTongue: OKAY THEN, Mister Future Famous Musician. That’s your dream job, right?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: ...I guess so. I don’t actually know what my dream job would be. I already have a really well-paying one, so I don’t think about it much.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Is that YOUR dream job, then? To be a famous author?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Maybe not a famous one. Maybe under a pen name.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: What? This is coming from the girl who at one point couldn’t believe I didn’t have a celebrity crush?? The girl who was obsessed with reality shows and Adrien Agreste?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Okay, number 1: WAS obsessed with reality shows. Number 2: WAS obsessed with Adrien Agreste. I’m starting to see what you mean about fame. It’s not all that and a bag of chips. Sometimes… sometimes it’s just the bag of chips.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: ????????**

**CatGotYourTongue: Well, you know how literally every bag of chips is like seventy percent air? I think that’s what fame must be like. It’s seventy percent disappointment, and like… thirty percent temporary happiness.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Well, THAT’S a jaded way of looking at it. What brought on this train of thought? And timeout. What happened to your crush on Adrien Agreste?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Well, his heart belongs to someone else. Didn’t you hear him say that during the panel? He basically started a trainwreck of emotional breakdowns from jealous fangirls.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: So… that’s it? You’re over him, just like that?**

**CatGotYourTongue: I don’t know if THAT’S the case, but I’m not going to waste my extra time writing his name beside my name in cursive in my journal, if you know what I mean. Like I said before, it’s a hopeless, hopeless, hopeless crush. If I truly love the guy, which I think I do, then it’s good to be happy for his happiness. Obsessiveness over cartoons is good, obsessiveness over fanfics are great, but… just… obsessiveness over actual people? I don’t know, you know?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: What’s so wrong about being obsessed with a person? I’m obsessed with a person.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I don’t mean to make it seem weird, I don’t know. I’m just beginning to realize that people are PEOPLE, not just objects of affection. Every single person on this planet is an independent-minded individual, and each one deserves respect. I feel like obsessing over someone and putting him or her on a pedestal is unfair to everyone involved. People aren’t perfect, people aren’t Gods. I shouldn’t treat Adrien like a God. He’s just a person. A really sweet, charming, handsome person, but a person nonetheless, with flaws and hardships and mistakes, just like anyone else.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Hello?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Hello??? Did you fall asleep?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: No, I didn’t. I have a question.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Okay.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: What if this person - Adrien Agreste - with all his flaws and hardships and mistakes, etc, approached you and asked you out on a date? Humor me, for just one second. Would you go out with him?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Okay, I see what you’re getting at, but HELLO? Newsflash??? That guy would never, in a million years, ask me out on a date. So this question is frankly a little silly.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: But how do you KNOW?**

**CatGotYourTongue: What?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: How can you be so sure???**

**CatGotYourTongue: Of what????**

**BugabooBoyfriend: HOW DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE HE’D NEVER ASK IF HE KNEW YOU PERSONALLY?**

**CatGotYourTongue: BECAUSE I DO KNOW. I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT I’D BARELY AND RARELY BE ABLE TO HOLD DOWN A CONVERSATION WITH HIM. I KNOW THAT.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: How can you say that??? You, not able to hold down a conversation??? Are you kidding me?**

**CatGotYourTongue: No, I’m not kidding you. Even if I worked at Agreste freaking Productions, and saw him ALL THE TIME, I wouldn’t be able to do that. I’m not kidding you.**

\----

Adrien’s fingers flew across the phone’s touch-screen keyboard.

**BugabooBoyfriend: How can you SAY that? How can you say that when I’ve HEARD you in conversations?**

**CatGotYourTongue: You’ve only heard my voice in one conversation, and that was today.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Untrue. I’ve heard you talk in every emphasis made in the dialogue and descriptions you’ve written, in all thirty-two of your fanfictions. Your voice is expressive. It’s wise. It’s kind. And it’s very thoughtful. And sarcastic. And funny. And sweet. It’s quite literally all over the place, all the time. I’ve heard the infinite conversations you have in your own head, thanks to your writing. I’ve heard so many, many, many conversations with your voice. Sometimes, I hear your voice in my own head when I’m talking to myself and letting my imagination get carried away. I’ve. Heard. You. Talk. You could definitely, without a doubt in my mind, be able to win that guy over in a heartbeat. Trust me.**

**CatGotYourTongue: ...You’re incredibly sweet. And I’m grateful for your support. But listen. And PLEASE hear me out. I know for an absolute fact that he and I would be total strangers even if we were around each other 24/7.**

Adrien frowned down at his phone, utterly perplexed.

**BugabooBoyfriend: But how??? HOW do you KNOW?**

**CatGotYourTongue: ...Can you keep a secret?**

His eyes widened.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yes.**

**CatGotYourTongue: If you told anyone about this secret, it could cost me my job. I could get sued for my fanfics. Because I DO work for Agreste Productions. I’m… not going to tell you who exactly I am, because that’s not important, but I work for Agreste Productions. And I have talked to Adrien, and I have tried to flirt with him and be myself, I really truly tried, but today he told the world that his heart’s “well-placed” on another girl. So… THAT’S how I know. THERE’S my reality check. And it sucks. It really, reallly sucks.**

Adrien gaped at the screen incredulously for a very long time.

Then another, final message came in.

**CatGotYourTongue: I’d rather not talk about this anymore, if that’s okay with you. I’m getting really tired, so I’m gonna go to sleep. Goodnight. And please, please, please promise me you'll never tell a soul. I'm trusting you.**

In a state of shock, Adrien slowly typed back his response.

**BugabooBoyfriend: I promise. But please, don't go. Talk to me. Please.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hello?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: CatGotYourTongue?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Good night, friend. Let's chat again in the morning, okay? Sleep well. I'll talk to you tomorrow.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so intense, yet so fun to write!
> 
> I hope you enjoy. :)

When Adrien woke up the following morning, the first thing he did was roll over, unlock his phone, and check his private message inbox.

He shot up out of bed when he didn’t see the “CatGotYourTongue” username anywhere.

He began to outright panic when he searched her up on the vault of the fanfiction website, and saw that there was nothing to be found.

He refreshed the page, over and over and over again.

He tried logging out and logging back in.

He manually typed each letter of her username into the “New Message” bar, praying that it would pop up by default.

“No, no, no, _no,”_ he whispered, grabbing at his own hair. “Please don’t be gone. Please, please, please…”

He tried everything again.

It took him the seventh failed search attempt to finally stop himself and let it sink into the pit of his stomach that she’d truly done it.

She’d deleted her account.

\----

Marinette cried.

With shaky hands, she changed into a new outfit and packed everything else up. With tears staining her cheeks, she re-tied her pigtails. With a sniffling nose, she applied deodorant, perfume, and a little makeup onto herself.

She was so _stupid._

Why did she tell him the truth about her job? _Why_ did she act so recklessly? Why didn’t she _think?_

Why did she grow so close to this stranger that she openly hugged him at an event that was meant to be only professional, from her standpoint?

Why did she message him so often that she became sad when she thought he’d forgotten her birthday?

 _Why_ had she ever messaged him back in the first place, at all?

She glared at herself in the little mirror on the wall.

“You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Marinette,” she said sternly to herself, before bursting into a fresh round of tears, ruining her newly done mascara. “You- y-you _can’t.”_

The realization that she’d essentially committed career suicide - the terrifying moment of clarity when she actually registered that she’d given up her biggest secret to an _anonymous person on the internet -_ had uprooted her foundation from her feet and left her struggling to stand. She hadn’t been able to sleep all night.

By sunrise, she’d started to panic.

She couldn’t _bear_ the thought of losing her job.

She loved her job - despite the invasive world of reality shows and crazy supervisors that came with it.

She genuinely, truly loved her job. Being Ladybug for millions of people all around the world was a joy like no other. She _loved_ Ladybug. To her, the character was _real._ She was a symbol of hope and power and intelligence and determination and all the other characteristics that stood with feminine superheroism.

It was what had caused her to write her first fanfiction in the first place, over a year and a half ago.

And now, because of her careless actions with _one_ reviewer, her job was about to go down the drain. She could already picture it: Gabriel Agreste’s disappointment as he fired her, the legal action that would need to be taken, the interview process for a _new_ Ladybug-

She couldn’t stand it.

She’d been terrified.

And so she did the only thing that made sense to her in that moment: she deleted every single story she’d ever written, and she deactivated her account.

Right now, she knew she was crying for two reasons. She was grief-stricken that she’d had to put to death all of her creative works; all her labors of love. Her stories were all little pieces of her imagination, so it felt like she had destroyed fragments of her mind. She was also heartbroken out of confliction over that reviewer, that boy… her friend.

She’d given up on her _friend._

In deactivating her account, she’d cut all ties with him. She didn’t know his phone number; she didn’t even have his email address. Just like that, there was no more access. No way of communicating.

Of course, that was the whole _point._ She couldn’t risk him giving into temptation and telling the world that she worked for Agreste Productions. She couldn’t risk having him reveal her secret, no matter how utterly painful it was to abandon him.

She couldn’t have her cake and eat it too.

She had to choose between being an actor, and being an online writer.

So, with a heavy heart, she’d made her decision.

It was time to do away with her stories, her friendship with “BugabooBoyfriend”, and any other distractions that blocked her from her future. It was time to focus on her career with full force.

It was time for her to take her life seriously.

\----

Adrien and Marinette drifted out of their rooms, duffel bags in arms.

“Morning,” Adrien mumbled.

Marinette nodded dimly at the floor.

They made their way out of the suite, where Nathalie was already waiting.

Marinette handed her the room key, and they waited silently for the rest of the group to come out into the hallway.

\----

The ride back home was incredibly lonely.

Marinette sat by herself at the very front of the bus, behind the driver.

She tried listening to music, but no song in the entire world seemed to match her mood.

All she could think of were the songs _he’d_ created. For her.

Wincing, she turned to face the window and spent her time watching the cars drive by.

\----

Adrien knocked on Miss Bustier’s house door.

She opened the door, took one look at him, and her smile instantly faded and was replaced by a look of concern.

“Adrien! What’s wrong? Come in, come in!”

He followed her down the foyer and into her bright, sunny living room, where greenery overflowed at every corner. He surveyed the decor for a moment.

“Your plants look lovely,” he said.

She cast him a knowing, motherly smile. “Don’t worry about my plants. Sit down. Let me get you tea. Would you like cookies with it? No, you know what; don’t answer that. I’m getting you cookies.” She flurried off into the kitchen.

_“Mew.”_

Adrien looked down at his ankles, where Plagg was rubbing his head against him. He smiled softly. “Hey, you. Did you miss me, buddy?” He reached down, picked him up, and placed him on his lap.

The kitten began kneading, which made him laugh. “Yeah, okay, I missed you too! Ow, _stop that.”_

Miss Bustier returned, holding a tray with a teacup and a plate of chocolate chip cookies. She placed them down on the coffee table before him, then sat down on the couch across from him.

“Thank you, Miss Bustier.” Adrien reached for the cup, lifted it, brought it to his lips, and took a sip. He wasn’t much of a tea person, but he wasn’t about to say that to the kindest woman on earth. “This is very nice.”

“It’s nothing. Nothing at all. Now, let’s talk about you…” She leaned forward, regarding him with worry. “You look drained, Adrien.”

He nodded slowly, putting down the teacup.

“Are they working you to death for that television cartoon?” She shook her head. “You know, I have quite a few things I could say about the awful way they portray you on that piece-of-nonsense they call a _reality_ show.”

Adrien raised his hands to assure her. “No, it’s not work-related stuff, I promise. It’s… actually a relationship problem? Kind of.”

“I see,” Miss Bustier nodded thoughtfully. “Is there anything I can help you with? I can’t do much; I can only give advice, but-”

“Advice would be great right now.” He slumped his shoulders helplessly. “Miss Bustier, I’ve fallen in love with a girl, but now I can’t talk to her.”

“Hm. Have you tried rehearsing in front of a mirror first?”

Adrien blinked, then shook his head. “No, no, it’s not like that. It’s…” He sighed, embarrassed. “It’s different. I met her in a… a… it’s… it’s kind of like a private chat room. We talked for weeks under these fake names, then we finally met up at Comic-Con yesterday, but she was dressed up in a masked costume, and… and so was I, so we couldn’t have recognized each other otherwise. Last night while I was alone in my hotel room, she admitted a secret to me-”

“Via the private chat room?” Miss Bustier interrupted.

“-Yes. And then this morning, when I checked the chat room again, she was gone. She deleted her account. Now I can’t talk to her anymore. She’s gone. I…” His face crumpled and the pitch of his voice went up. “...I really love her, Miss Bustier, I… I really…”

Alarmed, Miss Bustier reached across the coffee table and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Adrien began to weep.

He pressed his hands to his face. Then, suddenly, his shoulders started shaking. He sobbed quietly.

This went on for a minute, and then when his tears subsided, he removed his hands from his eyes and shook his head in disbelief.

“She’s gone. I can’t- she’s just _gone.”_

“Adrien, why were the two of you keeping your identities a secret from each other?” Miss Bustier frowned, her eyebrows furrowed. “And… what was the secret she admitted to you last night?”

He exhaled. She pulled a tissue out of a nearby tissue box, and offered it to him. He took it, and blew his nose.

“I remained anonymous because of my fame,” he said carefully. “As for her secret, I’m afraid I can’t tell you.” He hung his head. “I’m sorry. I promised her my word.”

“I understand. It’s very good of you to be so trustworthy.” She patted him. “But I’m afraid there’s not much advice I can give for this… unique situation. In a time like this, well, I suppose I’d wish for a miracle.”

He blew his nose again, then stood up and walked over to the trash can, disposing the tissue. “Thank you Miss Bustier, for everything. I’m truly grateful. Thanks for taking care of my cat and… thanks for always taking care of _me,_ and letting me cry.”

She stood up. “I’m always here for you, Adrien. You know that. You’re like a nephew to me.”

He mustered a small smile at this. “And you’re like an aunt to me. Thank you.”

\----

Several days passed.

At least five times per day, he checked his inbox to see if her username had reappeared.

He spent his work hours focusing on and wondering about every petite female who passed by, when he wasn’t looking down at his script.

He spent his free time playing mindless video games, cuddling Plagg, and sleeping.

On the fifth day, however, he forced himself to get back out of bed around four-thirty in the afternoon, looked over at the wall where he’d taped her cardboard sign, pulled out some fresh clothes, put them on, and crossed his arms resolutely.

“Plagg, I’m gonna talk to him.”

_“Meow.”_

“Yeah,” he nodded seriously. “I am. I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna talk to him.”

_“Meow.”_

“Thanks for the support.” He bent down, scratched the top of Plagg’s head, and gave him a kiss. “See you later, little guy.”

\----

Adrien poked his head into his father’s office, relieved that there were no reality show cameramen around.

The man was pacing behind his desk and yelling into his phone, as usual.

“What do you mean, the _system’s_ down? Can’t the animators use a _different_ system?”

Adrien tried to wave to get his attention.

“You mean to tell me no one thought to back up the file beforehand? Everyone just… left the character designs on _one_ computer?” He stopped in amazement. _“Yes,_ well, did you try turning it off and on again?”

Adrien cleared his throat.

His father whirled around, saw that it was him, and sighed.

“Here’s an incentive,” he said slowly while looking directly into his son’s eyes. “If no one finds that file before tomorrow morning, I will personally march up into that department and find it myself. And if I find it myself-” He raised an eyebrow. “-Then you’re fired.”

With one click, he hung up the phone, placed it onto his desk, sat down, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and spoke. “Well, son, are you going to just stand there, or are you going to sit down?”

Adrien promptly sat down.

“Hello, Father,” he said decently. “How are you doing today?”

The older Agreste opened his eyes again to look at him. “Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘Not my circus, not my monkeys’?”

The boy’s posture straightened. “Um. I-”

“Because I’ll tell you what.” His father planted both hands on the table and leaned forward. “That is not the case for me here. I started this company from the ground up, Adrien. From the _ground. Up._ And every little monkey that swings into this establishment looks to me as their ringleader. I give them every proper instruction I can in order to ensure that the show will run smoothly, and unfortunately, they _still_ find a way to toy with me, down to the last possible second.”

Adrien blinked.

His father leaned back again and relaxed. “So. What brings you in here to my office today?”

Suddenly unsure of where to start, he twiddled his thumbs. “Um. Well, you see, I… uh…”

“For God’s sakes, Adrien, don’t stammer. I did not put you through five years of vocal training in your formative years for you to stammer today.”

He looked up into his father’s eyes, and deciding that it was now or never, he spoke the truth of his heart.

“Father, I’m having girl trouble.”

Without skipping a beat, the older man replied, “Oh, the girl your heart is ‘well-placed’ upon?”

Adrien’s eyebrows shot up. “You… heard about that?”

His father laughed - once, and quick. “I watched the live broadcast feed the day you all went. Surely you didn’t think I wouldn’t pay attention to a vital step in the ladder of our company’s self-promotion?”

“No… I mean… yes! I mean…”

The man laughed again. “So tell me. What is it. Is she… too emotional?”

“What? No.” Adrien shook his head. “No, that’s not-”

“Is she… religious?”

Adrien felt confused. “What?”

His father shrugged. “Some religious girls aren’t too particularly keen on going to bed with a boy, no matter how handsome, before marriage. Their morals won’t allow it. Is that it?”

He shook his head, harder. _“No._ Father, it’s much different than that.”

“So you _have_ taken her to bed?” His father nodded thoughtfully. “Careful, son. Remember that sex causes all sorts of new emotions and new problems, and you have a very important image to maintain for the public eye.”

Desperate to get off this topic, he leaned forward in his chair. “Father. _Please_ listen. It’s got nothing to do with sex.”

“Then, what is it?”

Adrien ran his sweaty palms down his jeans. “Okay. Here goes. I’m in love with her, and she doesn’t know-”

“She doesn’t _know?”_ His father stared at him like he was speaking fluent Japanese. “What do you mean she doesn’t _know?”_

Adrien stared back at his father helplessly.

The older man turned his head to the side, thinking, then shook his finger up in the air, and spoke again. “Do you know what I did when I first came up with the concept of Ladybug and Cat Noir?”

“Uh…”

“I booked a plane ticket that very day.” His father smiled a slow smile. “To Paris, France. I took initiative. I traveled. I took in the sights, the smells, the sounds. I wrote everything down. I drew it all - buildings, people, places, things - in my journal. When my feet touched American soil again, I was a changed man. A more _informed_ man. A better _equipped_ man. Why? Because I took initiative.” He raised his hands. “And here we sit. In a beautifully furnished office, in a well-kept facility, in the heart of Hollywood. Take initiative, son. Invest a bit of work, time, and energy into whatever you’re passionate about, and you _will_ reap what you sow.”

Self-satisfied, he leaned back again. “Now, shoo. I have paperwork to fill out, calls to answer, and about a million meetings to prepare for. You can go.”

Adrien slowly ascended from his chair. “...Um, thank you, Father.”

He walked out of the office, heard his father begin another phone call, and quietly closed the door behind him.

\----

Another day, another empty inbox.

He was growing paranoid that _anyone_ at Agreste Productions could be her.

She could be the receptionist. She could be the early morning intern. She could be _Chloe,_ for crying out loud, and he’d be none the wiser.

Multiple times in the past week, he’d very seriously considered printing flyers with her username and his contact information on them to tape all over the walls of every public room in Agreste Productions, but every time he was nearly tempted to do so, he would remember his promise to her.

His hands were tied, and it was driving him to the point of insanity.

No one had recently quit their job here - he’d personally kept tabs on the daily status report for the company every single day to make sure - so she was _still here somewhere,_ and he had no idea who she was or what department she worked for.

So when the seventh day since his return from Comic-Con arrived, he reluctantly decided to change tactics.

“I mean, it’s not like it’s the creepiest thing anyone’s ever done, right?” He asked Plagg. The kitten looked up at him, the bell on his collar jingling. “I mean, it’s not… totally _disgusting_ of me. Just… somewhat wrong. But not _horrible.”_

Praying with all his might that she’d merely deactivated her account rather than deleted it, he typed up the fanfiction website’s name on Google, clicked on the link, arrived at the login page, typed “CatGotYourTongue” in the username box, and then paused for quite a while at the password box, before guessing “adrienagreste.”

_Incorrect._

He hesitated. Maybe the password was case-sensitive?

He tried again, this time typing “AdrienAgreste.”

A new page began to load.

His eyes widened, his heart pounded, and despite his guilt, he grinned.

There was her account, plain as day. No stories to be seen, but… plenty of unanswered messages.

He raised his eyebrows when he realized that she’d only chosen a select few to respond to, and that his conversation with her was the most recent, and the longest, conversation in the list.

A little bit of digging helped him discover that he had been the only person she actually considered a friend on the website; a fact that both warmed his heart and increased his guilt.

“Ugh, what am I doing?” He moved his phone away from his face with a start. “I can’t be doing this. I _shouldn’t_ be doing this. This is… this is an invasion of her privacy.”

With one last longing look at her username on the top of the page, he convinced himself to log out.

_“Mew.”_

Looking down at Plagg, the most innocent creature to ever exist, brought on a whirlwind of emotions within Adrien that shook him and bothered him to his core.

In their very last conversation before she’d signed off the internet, she’d talked about how obsessing over people was wrong. And yet here he was, obsessing over _her_ on a whole new _level._ He’d violated her personal account. He’d stalked her.

He fell backwards in his bed and slapped his hands over his face in remorse.

“Plagg, I’m the _worst.”_ He gritted his teeth, his heart aching. “But I just… I miss her so _much.”_

As if he understood, Plagg jumped up onto the bed and curled up beside him, purring loudly and comfortingly.

\----

It had been a miserable week for Marinette.

She’d been off her A-game every day at work, she’d locked herself up in her apartment every chance she got, and she couldn’t figure out a single way to spend her free time besides binge-watching “Miraculous And Beyond.” At this point in the show, the narrator was suggesting that Adrien was covering up the fact that he was gay by pretending there was a “girl” in his “well-placed” heart. It was awful, and what was more awful was the fact that she couldn’t even make fun of the stupid plot device with her best friend like she would’ve been able to have done just a week ago.

So when she was alerted to the email that her fanfiction account had been reactivated, she was certain that the universe was tossing her feelings around like a ragdoll just to spite her.

 _How_ could it be reactivated? Had she logged into the account in her sleep?

Twisting her lucky charm bracelet around her wrist for a moment, she decided that what she needed was some fresh air. To go out. To do something. _Anything_ but sit here and stare at her phone.

So she pulled her long shirt sleeve up over the bracelet, grabbed her car keys, left her phone on the table, kissed Tikki on the top of her head, walked out of her apartment, shut the door, headed down the hallway-

-And skidded to a halt when Adrien’s apartment door opened, and out walked Adrien.

He looked surprised to see her, but only for a moment, and a small smile formed on his face. “Hey Marinette. How’s it going?”

She internally noticed that while he still had somewhat of an effect on her emotions, the past week’s experiences had distracted her and curbed her attention considerably. Her response, therefore, was polite, and noticeably _calm._ “I’ve been better, but I shouldn’t complain.”

He gave her a funny look. “And why not?”

“Huh?”

He took a step forward, shutting his door with one hand, and putting his other hand in his pocket. “Why not complain to a friend, if there’s an acceptable reason to?”

She looked at him for a very long time, and whether it was her tiredness over being timid or his thought-provoking comment rattling her bones, she wasn’t sure, but she decided to extend him an offer. “Alright. I’ll complain to you. If you’ll provide me company? That is, if you have nowhere to be.”

He nodded immediately. “I have absolutely nowhere to be. Let’s take a walk outside.”

\----

On the property of Agreste Productions, opposite of the parking garage, was a beautiful park with a dirt path that had been developed around a large pond.

Currently, two pairs of people were taking advantage of this: Mylene and Ivan, all the way across the pond, and Marinette and Adrien, right at the start of the path.

Adrien had both hands shoved into his pockets, and Marinette had hers folded behind her back.

The two started their journey around the body of water, and Adrien looked over at her. “So.”

Marinette glanced up at him, then back toward the dirt in front of them. “So.”

“So, complain about everything.”

She chuckled slightly, then her expression darkened. “I’m a terrible person. So we can start there, I guess.”

Adrien silently nodded, gesturing for her to continue.

She sighed and rolled her eyes and shook her hands in the air for emphasis. “That’s it. I’m... a terrible person. The worst out there. Your turn.”

Instead of arguing with her, like she’d almost expected him to, he actually took her up on her last statement. “Alright. My turn. I’m… pretty terrible too. I behave really stupidly sometimes, and then I don’t know how to fix it.”

She looked up at him, eyes wide, and nodded. “Okay, _same.”_

“It’s so dumb!” Adrien shook his head. “One minute, I’m thriving; the next minute, I’m at the bottom of a deep hole.”

“Me too!” Marinette pointed to her chest emphatically. “Me too!”

“Not to sound shallow; I realize I’m incredibly blessed and others out there have it way worse than I do, but Marinette? Honestly, I _hate_ life right now.”

Marinette laughed, loud and clear and humorless. “Adrien, you have _no_ idea. Absolutely no idea. I feel the exact same way.”

In the distance, Mylene and Ivan waved at them. Adrien saw first, and waved back, and then Marinette joined in.

Once their hands were back down, Adrien turned to wink at Marinette. “Do you think they’re as cute in real life as we are in fiction?”

She gaped at him for a moment, before giggling and nudging his side with hers. “Oh, we’re _so_ much cuter. We’re a household name. We’re the main cosplay event at conventions. We’re _Ladybug and Cat Noir._ Come on now.”

Having heard the names being spoken out loud, both Adrien and Marinette grimaced down at their shoes for a split second, remembering.

“So…” He began again.

“So.” She kicked a random stone in her way into the pond beside them.

He stopped.

She stopped.

“Do you ever wish you believed in miracles?” Adrien cocked his head and squinted at her, facing the direct sunlight.

She frowned. “You mean, you don’t?”

“I don’t know anymore.” He looked out over the water. “I mean, I know for a fact that I did. But now…” His voice trailed off.

Marinette pulled down her sleeve and lifted her arm up, showing her bracelet. “Look at this.”

He turned his head and looked.

His jaw dropped.

_“Where did you-”_

“My friend gave it to me,” she explained, gazing down at it. “He told me that whenever I’m wishing for a miracle, I can use this as my lucky charm.” She held her wrist out toward him. “I haven’t used it yet for its intended purpose, but maybe you can.” She continued to hold her arm out, looking back up at him calmly. “Y’know, if you want to. No pressure or anything.”

His eyes were wide as saucers, and his mouth was still hanging open.

She began to feel a little awkward, and slowly began to lower her arm. “Sorry if I sounded dumb-”

He grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her a bit closer as a result.

His eyes went down to her bracelet, then back up to her eyes, then back down to her bracelet.

“...Are you using it?” She brought her voice down to a respectful whisper.

He shut his eyes tightly, squeezing her wrist and pressing down with his hands; then, after a long-held pause, he reopened his eyes, let go of her, and took a step back.

“Y-yeah.” He said, and then took two more steps back. “I used it. Thanks… Marinette. I gotta… I just realized I left the stove on in my apartment, and-”

“Oh my gosh.” Her eyes widened. “You better _go.”_

“Yeah, you’re right, I better… I better go!” He nodded at her, frantically, and then took off running.

She sat down at the edge of the water and watched him dash across the park toward the building.

She looked over at Mylene and Ivan holding hands, and thought of all the people whose meals got placed on the table by their paychecks thanks to this establishment.

Deciding that her first wish with the lucky charm ought to be a selfless one, she mimicked Adrien, squeezing her bracelet’s wrist with her other hand, and closed her eyes.

“I wish… that Agreste Productions won’t catch on fire from Adrien’s mistake.”

She opened her eyes, thought for a moment, and then closed them again.

“I also wish that Adrien will be able to get out of the hole that he’s in.”

She reopened her eyes a third time, then realized that now that she’d used up two wishes on others, it was most likely alright to make a personal request.

She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed down on her wrist extra tightly, before whispering,

“And… I wish... to fix my mistakes and climb out of _my_ hole, too.”

When she looked out at the pond again, blinking, she realized with a jolt that her third wish had already been answered for her by the universe itself.

After all, her account had been reactivated.

And she still had her job intact.

What was stopping her from messaging her best friend again?

_Absolutely nothing._

She jumped up, a maddening rush of energy coming over her, and she ran as fast as she could to get back to her phone, which was waiting for her in her apartment.

\----

**CatGotYourTongue: Hey…**

**CatGotYourTongue: First of all, I’m so sorry… I’m so incredibly sorry for deactivating my account and avoiding/ignoring you for an entire week. For some reason I was convinced that you’d spill the beans about my job to the whole world. But it’s been a week, and I gave you no good reason to keep your promise, and yet you definitely did. Words cannot describe how sorry I truly am. Apologies aren’t enough. I promise, I PROMISE, I’ll never do that again. Second of all… I missed you. So much. You have no idea. Third of all, I used your Lucky Charm gift today for the first time ever, and it worked, because I wished to fix my mistakes, and my account somehow got reactivated, and here I am messaging you again. So thank you so much for giving me the greatest gift in the universe. Fourth of all, I’m WRONG, that’s not the greatest gift in the universe. YOU are. Thank you for giving me your friendship. Please, I know I deserve for you to never ever ever ever ever talk to me ever again, but if you find it in your heart to forgive me, I will treat this friendship like the priority that it actually is. Fifth of all… I’m sorry again. I’m so sorry, friend. Please forgive me. If you can.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hey. :,)**

**CatGotYourTongue: Omg :,) Hey :,)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: First of all, I forgive you. Second of all, I missed you more. Third of all, I love you. Fourth of all, I love you again. Fifth of all, I told you, I already forgave you. Sixth of all… can you forgive ME? :/ I’m the one that reactivated your account. I hacked it. I’m so sorry. I understand if you want to disappear again now that you know that, but I needed to tell you the truth. I was desperate, because I missed you so much. I had no idea you’d figure out that it got reactivated. I’m so sorry.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: ...Hello? :(**

**CatGotYourTongue: I FORGIVE YOU. I DON’T EVEN CARE. I’M IMPRESSED THAT YOU FIGURED OUT THE PASSWORD. ACTUALLY, NO I’M NOT. IT’S THE STUPIDEST PASSWORD IN ALL OF EXISTENCE. EVEN STUPIDER THAN YOUR STUPID USERNAME. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Also, I love you too. Also, I love you again.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: It really IS a stupid password. You have no idea how much I missed you… I love you, I love you again, I love you again plus one.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh my God I missed you too… I love you, I love you again, I love you again plus TEN.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I LOVE YOU. PLUS A MILLION.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I love you plus infinity squared.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I love you plus infinity squared times infinity squared.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Timeout. I love you even more than that, but seriously, I need to take a nap. I just ran a mile and I am so out of shape. I’m exhausted. Is it okay if we talk after I wake up? I’ll set an alarm.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Pinky swear you’ll be back?**

**CatGotYourTongue: PINKY SWEAR. I’ll be back. I promise, friend.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Okay. Have a good nap. :) And friend?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Yeah?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /hugs you/**

**CatGotYourTongue: /hugs you tight/ Gonna sleep now. Talk to you in like two hours.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Talk to you in two hours. :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: Haha talk to you then! Okay bye!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Bye :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: Bye :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: ...Are you sure you want to take a nap?**

**CatGotYourTongue: …. NAH. So I need to complain about Miraculous And Beyond for like twenty minutes.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh my God, you returned to that stupid show? Are you OBTUSE?**

**CatGotYourTongue: I was DEPRESSED! I was going through WITHDRAWALS this past week without you around!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh my God. Okay. I’m all ears.**

**CatGotYourTongue: OKAY. So let me vent about literally EVERYTHING...**

**\----**


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because it was honestly needed.
> 
> Behold: Snippets of a week's worth of private messages between our two favorite crushin' kids. And then... just for fun... some message drafts that wind up deleted before they're ever sent.

\----

**BugabooBoyfriend: Forget the reality show and its terrible ways of trying to start drama for a second. The real question is, do YOU think Adrien’s gay?**

**CatGotYourTongue: You know, now that you’re posing the question in all seriousness… I don’t know. Do YOU think he is?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: No, I honestly don’t. Call it an instinct, but I just don’t think so.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Hmm.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Friend? Can I ask you a personal question?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /laughs/ No, I’m not gay.**

**CatGotYourTongue: How’d you know that was what I was gonna ask???**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You were super obvious about it. You didn’t even change the subject first.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh, shut up!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /laughs harder/**

**BugabooBoyfriend: But since we’re on the subject… I’m curious. What’s your sexual orientation? If you don’t mind sharing, of course.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Boring old heterosexuality, just like you.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Haha. I guess we can be boring old straights together then. :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: I guess so. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Y’know, it’s not ALL boring.**

**CatGotYourTongue: ?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Not to take anything away from anyone who doesn’t identify as straight! Every form of love is beautiful! But you know… there’s something unique about being a boy and falling in love with a girl. Someone so different from me… basically a different species… yet so incredibly similar. Idk, it’s cool.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Spoken like a true boring old straight. ;)**

**CatGotYourTongue: But I get it, of course. It IS beautiful, and unique. But I’m really glad those in the LGBT community are finally shining in the spotlight nowadays like they deserve.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh, definitely. They more than deserve it. Especially when you think about how much they’ve suffered in the past, and how many are still suffering to this day. Love is a battlefield for them, and it shouldn’t be. It should be free.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Agreed 100%.**

**CatGotYourTongue: So… What are your political views?**

\----

**BugabooBoyfriend: And then at the age of eight, I FINALLY caved in after getting bullied by the neighborhood kids. I marched right out into that cul-de-sac, picked my bike up, and got back on it.**

**CatGotYourTongue: ...And??? Did you finally figure out how to ride it???**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yes. But it cost me two bleeding knees and a bleeding chin first.**

**CatGotYourTongue: OUCH. You fell off?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh, I bumped into the edge of the garbage can and FLEW off. But I was determined to keep trying. I wanted the bullying to stop. As an eight-year-old, you have to understand, I had pretty much no other choice. Everyone else learned at like, the age of five.**

**CatGotYourTongue: You poor thing.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: It gets worse. When my Father saw me from out the window, he almost had a meltdown. After all, I was riding slow circles on the street with blood pouring down my face and legs. Poor man must’ve thought a demon had possessed me. He came RUNNING out of the house, right up to my bike that was still in-motion, and scooped me up, and the bike crashed… right into a kid on another bike. That kid just so happened to be my biggest bully of all time.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh my God. THEN what happened???**

**BugabooBoyfriend: His mother threatened to sue my father, my father threw a hissy fit, and everybody wound up in the hospital. Hahahaha. It’s pretty funny, looking back on it.**

**CatGotYourTongue: For God’s sake! ONLY you… I SWEAR.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Seriously. Hahaha. So when did you learn to ride your bike? And don’t you dare say five years old.**

\----

**CatGotYourTongue: So then I was like, “MOM, I don’t KNOW what color I want, but I KNOW it’s not THAT one.”**

**BugabooBoyfriend: ...Don’t tell me. She really actually made you wear it to prom.**

**CatGotYourTongue: YES!!! The woman had sentimental TEARS in her eyes! Over… THAT!!! /sigh/ Lime green is SO not my color.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: To be fair, I don’t think it’s ANYONE’S color. It’s like… the color of mucus.**

**CatGotYourTongue: THAT’S WHAT I TRIED TO TELL HER. So yep, there I am, covered head to toe in a turtleneck booger dress, at prom. I was like a flashing neon sign that told boys to stay far, far, far away.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Ooof. You danced by yourself, I take it?**

**CatGotYourTongue: I. Didn’t. Even. Dance. I was in charge of making sure the punchbowl didn’t get spiked all night. It was a weird favor for the principal after he let ten of my consecutive late tardies slide.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: What kind of nightmare school experience was this???**

**CatGotYourTongue: You’re telling me. So anyway, what was your favorite subject growing up in school?**

\----

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yeah, now that I really think about it, being a model would be insanely cool. Imagine your only job being that you have to pose and look sharp in front of a camera. Modeling spreads in magazines HAVE always fascinated me, but it’s a completely different world from the one I live in. Oh well. /shrugs/ Life happens the way it happens for a reason.**

**CatGotYourTongue: That’s exactly how I feel about fashion design! When I was a little girl, I would cut out the fashion highlights in magazines and scrapbook them, pretending I was creating my own magazine. Life took some really crazy turns for me, so I was never able to pursue the fashion dream, but it’s always something I imagine I became successful in, in an alternate universe maybe.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I totally understand the alternate universe feeling. Do you ever, like, REALLY wonder about who's or what’s in charge of the universe that you’re in?**

**CatGotYourTongue: I try to sometimes, but then I sit and feel all existential, and I stop. You?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yeah. Same.**

\----

**CatGotYourTongue: And I just really regret it, you know? I overreacted. And look. All my hard work… gone.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Please don’t beat yourself up over it. :( I know it sucks. I know it’s hard. But for me, the stories live on. In here. /pats heart/ Let them live on in your heart too.**

**CatGotYourTongue: I’ll try. :( I just can’t believe I deleted all thirty-two. What if I’d kept at least one?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: DON’T play the what-if game, you’ll drive yourself crazy. Trust me. Someday, when you’re ready, you’ll write again. And it’ll be 1,000,000% worth pure diamonds. I just know it.**

**CatGotYourTongue: :( I’m still so sad though.**

**BugabooBoyfriend :(**

\----

**CatGotYourTongue: /breaks down door/ MIRACULOUS!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /punches wall/ SIMPLY THE BEST!**

**CatGotYourTongue: /kicks ball/ UP TO THE TEST!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /flips table/ WHEN THINGS GO WRONG!**

**CatGotYourTongue: Ugh, if only the WHOLE WORLD COULD HEAR THESE CATCHY LYRICS! IT’S SO SAD THAT WE’RE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN ENJOY THEM! THIS IS UNFAIR.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I don’t mind that we’re the only ones who know it :) It’s like our own little secret :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: ...Well, I guess you’re right :) It's kinda like an inside joke, just between us :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yeah! :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: :)**

\----

**BugabooBoyfriend: So what’s your type? If you… have a type?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Blonde. I have a thing for blondes. Don’t make fun of me, I KNOW I’m giving you plenty of material right now, but just don’t do it. So yeah. Tall, blonde, kind. Kindness is a MUST.**

**CatGotYourTongue: And… you?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I don’t care too much about hair color, if I’m being serious. Or about height, or weight, or looks in general. If anything, it’s the personality that I’m after. She’s gotta be funny. Creative is a bonus. But kind… kindness is my definite must, too.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Aw :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yeah, I know, I’m a sap. :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: Do you like anyone at the moment?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yeah. I do.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: And we already know for sure that YOU like someone ;) Little Miss I’m-Gonna-Name-My-Password-After-Him.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Yeah, I’ve really gotta change that password. Hahahahaha.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Haha, nah :) You should keep it. :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: WHY? So you can STALK me more? ;)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh, leave me alone.**

**CatGotYourTongue: You leave ME alone!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: No, you leave ME alone!**

**CatGotYourTongue: /sticks out tongue/**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /tackles you to the ground/**

**CatGotYourTongue: NOOOOOOO! I’m gonna die! Hahahahahaha!**

**BuagabooBoyfriend: Say your last words.**

**CatGotYourTongue: ...Your username is, truly, the worst.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /kills you/**

**CatGotYourTongue: /dies with laughter/**

\----

**CatGotYourTongue: So how exactly did you cope?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: By playing Ultimate Mecha Strike III, mostly. And crying. I cried a lot.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Aw :(**

**BugabooBoyfriend: ...And what about you? How’d YOU cope?**

**CatGotYourTongue: I was off-kilter the entire week, no matter what I tried to do. I tried throwing myself into work, but as you know, I WORK for The Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug And Cat Noir, so all I could think about was our meeting at Comic-Con. I tried distracting myself with the reality show, and that worked kinda, but I always felt empty after each episode was over. And I cried too.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: We’re such a mess.**

**CatGotYourTongue: We are.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Can I admit something to you?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Of course.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’ve never been in a relationship, but for me, last week felt like a breakup. It was awful.**

**CatGotYourTongue: That’s literally how it felt for me too. I’m still so sorry I put you through that. :(**

**BugabooBoyfriend: The past is the past. :) No need to apologize anymore. Besides, you went through the same amount of hell as I did, if this conversation is any indication. Don’t be sorry for a mutual experience we went through together. It wasn’t ideal by any means, but look at us now. Our friendship’s stronger because of it.**

**CatGotYourTongue: So much stronger. I agree.**

\----

**BugabooBoyfriend: So, why “Cat Got Your Tongue”, exactly?**

**CatGotYourTongue: It just seemed perfect. Cat Noir is one of my favorite cartoon characters of all time, and despite the fact that he’s never used that pun in the actual show [surprisingly], it sounded like such a good tribute to him. Also, on another level, I wanted my stories to be so good that my username could tease the readers, like, “Cat got your tongue??” You know?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: As usual, you thought everything through down to the last possible fraction. /shakes head at you/ :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: ENOUGH teasing! Since we’ve reached this topic, I DEMAND to know why the heck you ever thought “Bugaboo Boyfriend” was a good idea. WHY.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I will murder you if you don’t shut up about the username, Madam. Now you listen here and you listen good. Cat Noir ALWAYS calls Ladybug “Bugaboo” when he’s teasing her. And we all know he desperately wishes to be her boyfriend. Hence, “BugabooBoyfriend.”**

**CatGotYourTongue: ...This leaves me with more questions than answers.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: HOW???**

**CatGotYourTongue: Do you think YOU’RE THE ACTUAL CHARACTER????? Do- do you have a CARTOON CRUSH ON LADYBUG????**

**BugabooBoyfriend: So what if I did, at one point? What, do you think you have the right to JUDGE?**

**CatGotYourTongue: … /twitches/**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /STARES YOU DOWN/**

**CatGotYourTongue: Okay, fine, there’s nothing wrong with… wishing you could get it on with Ladybug… I guess?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /facepalm/ I never wished I could “get it on” with her! Yikes!**

**CatGotYourTongue: HOW WOULD I KNOW WHAT YOUR CRUSHES ARE LIKE?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hold the phone. You wish you could “get it on” with Adrien Agreste?**

**CatGotYourTongue: I’m not having this conversation.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: NOPE. YOU ARE NOT BACKING OUT OF THIS NOW.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Peace out! Logging off for the night!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: NO COME BACK!**

**CatGotYourTongue: Byeeeeeeee!**

\----

**CatGotYourTongue: IT’S FINALLY. THE MIRACULOUS FRIDAY. OF THE MONTH. A NEW EPISODE. OF LADYBUG AND CAT NOIR. AIRS IN TEN MINUTES. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’ve already got the popcorn ready!!!**

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh shoot, that’s a good idea! Brb, I’m gonna pop my own batch!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You better be back at your phone by the time the episode premieres MADAM! I AM NOT GONNA BE LEFT TO SQUEAL BY MYSELF.**

**CatGotYourTongue: TRUST ME I’LL BE BACK JUST WAIT**

\----

**BugabooBoyfriend: ...Wow.**

**CatGotYourTongue: ...Wow is right.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: They… they kissed.**

**CatGotYourTongue: As a DISTRACTION.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: And then THEY NEVER TALKED ABOUT IT???**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Don’t mind me, just utterly baffled over here.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: WAIT. YOU WORK FOR THIS SHOW, AND YOU ALLOWED THIS TO HAPPEN????**

**CatGotYourTongue: I have no influence over what happens!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’M CALLING YOUR BLUFF RIGHT NOW**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I BET YOU DO HAVE SOME INFLUENCE**

**BugabooBoyfriend: NOT TO MENTION YOU KNEW THEY WOULD KISS, AND YOU SAID NOTHING TO ME ABOUT IT ALL THESE WEEKS**

**CatGotYourTongue: …To be fair, one of those weeks, we weren’t exactly on speaking terms with each other…**

**BugabooBoyfriend: NOT NOW WOMAN**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I DON’T CARE ABOUT THE LOGISTICS**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I CARE ABOUT YOUR LOYALTY**

**BugabooBoyfriend: HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME**

**CatGotYourTongue: IT’S MY JOB. I CAN’T REVEAL SECRETS ABOUT MY JOB. I’M SORRY**

**BugabooBoyfriend: /sniffs/ I am betrayed. [totally kidding of course, in case you’re actually worried]**

**CatGotYourTongue: [I know you’re kidding. I’m just being a dramatic baby.]**

**BugabooBoyfriend: [Wow. You’re pretty good at that]**

**CatGotYourTongue: [I take notes from the best dramatic baby I know ;) HAHA]**

**BugabooBoyfriend: HEY NOW!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: ...Don't.**

**CatGotYourTongue: /evil smile/**

**BugabooBoyfriend: DON'T**

**CatGotYourTongue: HEY NOW.** **YOU'RE AN ALL-STAR. GETCHA GAME ON. GO. PLAYYYYY**

\----

**NEW MESSAGE DRAFTS**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hey Marinette… I know it’s you. Because it’s me. Adrien.**

_***deleted*** _

**BugabooBoyfriend: Hey, friend. I have to confess something to you. I’m in love with you.**

_***deleted*** _

**BugabooBoyfriend: CatGotYourTongue… I know this is going to come as a shock. But I need to come clean. We’re best friends, right? So I should be able to tell you anything. Well… the truth is… I’m not who you think I am. I’m not just a fan of the show you work for… I actually work for Agreste Productions too. And please don’t freak out. But I know who you are. But I’m so afraid to say our names. Our REAL names. Because what if you run away? What if you don’t trust me anymore? What if you get angry? Or hurt? I promise I didn’t know at Comic-Con. I found out who you were the day we walked around the pond. The day you showed me the Lucky Charm bracelet I gave you. And ever since that day, my world’s turned upside-down, yet… in a way… it’s finally right-side-up, for the first time in my whole life. I love you. I want to be your best friend in real life. Not just in the virtual world. Think of it, Marinette. All the hundreds of jokes between us on the internet. All the tiny moments we’ve shared in person. Now combine them. Can you imagine? Just how incredible our lives would become? I want that. Do you want that too? Please… let me know............... Ugh, no. Adrien Agreste, you’re an idiot. This isn’t the right way to do it. No no no no**

_***deleted*** _


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The one phrase I can think of to describe this chapter: a hot MESS.
> 
> Enjoy. ;)

“Places, everyone. Places.” Gabriel clapped. “Chop chop. We don’t have all morning.”

Adrien, huddling in the corner between the door and the water dispenser, quickly fired out another message.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh, I’ve got a better one for you. What does a nosy pepper do?**

He peeked out at Marinette once more - she was smiling down at her lap, her script untouched on the conference table in front of her.

Her response came in quickly.

**CatGotYourTongue: ...Get jalapeño business? ;) Heard it already!**

He immediately thought of another joke.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yeah? Have you heard the one about the butter?**

He observed her again. She smiled so excitedly that she pressed her cheek against her shoulder. Her reaction caused a thrill in him. Then she straightened and typed back.

**CatGotYourTongue: ...Darn. I haven’t.**

He grinned, going from looking down at his phone to looking up at her, and back again.

**BugabooBoyfriend: HA! Well, I better not tell you… it might SPREAD. ;)**

“Adrien James _Agreste.”_ His father’s voice punctured the moment and brought him back down to reality. “We are all _waiting_ for you. Now if you’d please stop loitering in the corner like the Hunchback of Notre Dame and take your _seat,_ we’d all very much like to start filming the Monday morning briefing.”

Sheepishly, Adrien slipped his phone into his pocket and joined everyone at the table. He didn’t dare look over at Marinette, now that she was sitting _right beside him._ He trained his eyes to his script and counted his own silent breaths.

“Cameras rolling in five…”

\----

Adrien inhaled and exhaled, clutching Marinette’s cardboard sign - the words **BugabooBoyfriend, A.K.A. My Favorite Stripper** slightly faded but still obvious - as he raised a fist up to knock on her apartment door.

“I… can... _do this,”_ he whispered fiercely. “I can do this. I _can_ do this.”

His hand, still poised to knock, began trembling.

He brought the sign up to cover his face and dropped to a crouch in front of the door.

“Ugh, I can’t do this.”

Suddenly the door opened.

Adrien yelped and popped up to a standing position and hid the sign behind his back.

Marinette blinked several times in surprise.

“...Adrien?”

“Oh, _hi,_ Marinette.” Adrien chuckled nervously, internally panicking. He dearly hoped she couldn’t see the sweat that was trailing down his forehead.

“Hi…” she said slowly. “How… are you today?”

“Oh, just dandy!” He tried grinning, but the corners of his lips were actually going _down._ He could _feel_ it. “Uhhhhhh, well,” He swallowed, and then spoke as fast as his stupid mouth could permit him. “I thought I dropped something around this part of the hallway but as it turns out I didn’t hahahahahaha silly me I’m just gonna go back to my home now good seeing you as always Marinette. Bye!”

With an anxious, forced smile, facing her, and with the sign still behind his back, be backed all the way up the hallway until he reached his own apartment, then with three failed attempts, and with Marinette _still_ staring at him, his hand finally managed to latch onto the doorknob, and he all but _leaped_ into the safety of his home, slamming the door.

He collapsed in a heap onto the floor of his kitchen, hugging the sign to his chest, trying to catch his breath. Plagg curiously padded over to his limb body and sniffed him.

_Buzz._

In an instant, he’d whipped his phone out of his pocket. His cheek pressed to the floor, he stared at the screen.

**CatGotYourTongue: Do you think Cat Noir never brought the kiss up to Ladybug because they’re gonna devote an entire future episode to him trying to talk to her about it? Because I really, really, REALLY hope they take advantage of all the plot potential.**

He sighed deeply - out of relief or out of despair, he did not know - and messaged her back.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Maybe you should let this thought inspire you, and try to write a little oneshot about it. :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: Maybe. :) I’ll mull it over for a while.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Sounds good. :) I gotta go, ttyl :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: Ttyl :)**

He put his phone down, slammed the side of his head against the floor, and groaned.

\----

“And that’s a wrap!” The director announced into the megaphone.

Everywhere around him, people began bustling about. Cameras were moved, props were taken down, and overhead lights were dimmed.

He wiped his palms down the sides of his costume, thinking about how pointless the script for this upcoming month’s episode had been. It was practically a _filler_ episode. No character development, no deepening plot twist, not even a single romantic _hint-_

“Good work today, as always.”

He jumped.

Marinette was smiling up at him, her blue eyes calm and sparkling and sincere.

He cleared his throat, attempting to smile back, and shifted his feet. “Thank you! You… too!” He paused, then felt the need to keep talking. “That is, as always. You always do a great job. You’re such a good actor- I mean, actress!”

He forced himself to shut up.

Marinette, for her part, simply continued smiling. “Thanks, that means a lot! We’re both pretty good at playing our characters, huh?”

He nodded and adjusted his costume’s tight collar. His neck felt too constricted. Way too constricted.

“Y-eah!” He cringed _deeply_ at his sudden voice crack. “Our characters… they sure are a doozy! Those two… ha…”

Marinette, apparently bent on remaining the most normal person in the room, nodded in agreement. “They _really_ are a doozy. Cat Noir especially.” She then winked at him _\- what in tarnation?_ “His puns this episode were on point.”

Rendered speechless, he nodded dumbly.

She raised an eyebrow at him, but kept smiling. “Well... I’m gonna head to my dressing room and get out of this full-on green disaster they call a motion-capture costume.” She laughed slightly at her own words, then nodded at him. “See you later, Adrien.”

She gave a little wave and walked off.

He stood, stuck to his spot, and watched her go, until the studio light right above his head was turned off.

\----

For what felt like the hundredth time in five minutes, Adrien tried, yet again, to comb down a particularly stubborn tuft of hair that just wouldn’t do what he wanted it to do.

It kept flipping up in the air.

_Buzz._

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it with his other hand.

**CatGotYourTongue: Hi, you. :)**

Nearly hyperventilating, he removed the comb from his scalp and stared up at the ceiling pleadingly.

“Whatever divine or sacred powers are up there somewhere…” His voice went down to a whisper. “...Please help me today.”

He swiftly typed out a response to her with his thumb.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh hey there. :)**

_“Meow.”_

Breathing heavily, Adrien looked disconcertedly back at his reflection in the bathroom mirror again. “Not now, Plagg,” he murmured, eyeing his hair closely. “Go... chase after a toy or something.”

_“Meowww.”_

Adrien decided to try placing the comb under running water before re-attempting his hairstyling technique.

It only made the situation worse; the flip of his blonde locks seemingly fought the laws of gravity with more vigor.

Then, suddenly, his cat dug his paws around his left leg and began climbing up his body.

“Plagg, what the everloving- _ow!”_

He carefully removed the animal from his pants and placed him outside the bathroom door, successfully shutting it, and turned his attention back to his problematic appearance.

_Buzz._

He glanced down.

**CatGotYourTongue: Whatcha up to? :)**

He gulped.

**BugabooBoyfriend: Oh, just relaxing. :) What about you?**

Wild scratching sounds were heard against the doorpost.

_“Mrrrowwww.”_

Adrien nearly dropped his phone; he was so frustrated.

 _“Plagg!”_ He shouted at the walls. “Today’s the day I plan to ask Marinette out; like out on a _date_ out, and my hair’s a lost cause, I can’t find my good button-down shirt anywhere, _you’re meowing up a storm,_ and I’m literally about to have a panic attack because I have no clue how I’m supposed to tell her that I’m the guy she talks to everyday on the internet, so could you kindly be a cool dude and _shut up for a sec?_ _Please?”_

As if his words had been properly interpreted in cat-language, there was a pause of silence.

_Buzz._

**CatGotYourTongue: Well, I was just thinking about you, so I thought I’d shoot you a message. :)**

_“...Mrow. Mrrroooowwwwww. MRRRRRROOOWWWWW.”_

Exasperated, Adrien grabbed the doorknob and swung the door wide open. _“What?_ What _is_ it?”

His deep black pupils dilated, Plagg angled his head to look up at his owner inquisitively for a moment, before scampering away.

Adrien watched, baffled, as the cat ran straight for his apartment’s front door, and began scratching _that._

“No, no, no, no, no…” He speed-walked toward Plagg. “If you leave scratch marks, Father’s gonna _kill_ me. _And_ make me get rid of you. So stop that!”

Plagg, apparently under the influence of total delirium, took a few steps backwards, sat, wiggled his rear end, and then _threw_ himself at the doorknob.

Adrien tried picking him up, but the cat clawed his way out of his grasp, and then proceeded to chuck himself at the speed of light onto the doorknob again, falling back down onto the ground.

“Are you _deranged?”_ Adrien reached for the doorknob, unlocked it, and opened it slightly. _“Look._ It’s just the hallway-”

Plagg rushed out through the crack.

His eyes widened.

 _“Plagg!”_ he cried. Barefoot, in his red-and-black polka dotted pajamas, and with an incredibly stupid hair flip, he realized he was going to have to chase after his cat-gone-wild. Cursing his horrific luck, he slipped his phone into his pants pocket, slammed the apartment door shut behind him, and took off as fast as he could down the hall.

\----

Marinette exited the stairwell and stepped into the hallway, absentmindedly beaming down at her phone.

All her thoughts were on her online best friend; awaiting his next message, and expectant to see the little smiley face emoticon he would undoubtedly place beside whatever his next message was going to be. Her heartbeat felt so fluttery she was certain she was going to die from anticipation - either that, or impatience. She silently begged for him to hurry up in responding.

She had no time and no warning for the black blur that sped down the hallway; she only heard it after it was already past her, but she _did_ manage to catch the sight of a disheveled Adrien Agreste before he barreled right into her, knocking her phone out of her hands, and nearly knocking her down too, if it wasn’t for the two of them clutching onto each other’s arms as an anchor for balance.

 _“Adrien.”_ She steadied herself carefully, trying not to fall.

“Ma- Marinette!” He gasped, heaving deep breaths. His eyes were stricken with an indisputably flustered, deer-in-the-headlights look. He very slowly let go of her, his face reddening, then looked down at her phone on the ground between their feet.

They both bent down to pick it up and bumped heads.

 _“Ow,”_ they muttered in unison.

Marinette rubbed her head and allowed him to pick the phone up. He handed it back to her almost robotically, and then straightened as she pocketed it.

“My cat’s… gone, uh, rogue.” He licked his lips, his eyes boring into hers with the very strange intensity that he always seemed to exude lately. “Gotta… find him. Uh, how are you?”

She nodded, her eyebrows furrowed. “Um. I’m good,” she said calmly.

He nodded back; too fast, too much. “You look nice,” he blurted.

She smiled politely at him. “Thank you. You look… like you just woke up?”

It was currently two in the afternoon.

He openly winced, which made her mimic him, feeling secondhand embarrassment.

She took the moment of their awkward delay to surreptitiously look him up and down.

He had on a white wife-beater top, and… Ladybug-themed pajama pants. He was barefoot. His hair had a little flip to it on one side.

“Do you need help?” She offered slowly.

“What?” He barked out a weird laugh. “No, I’m fine, uh, thank you… no.”

She stared at him.

He laughed again, then took a slight step back, clapping his hands together. “Well, I’ll just be going back home now. Always nice seeing you, Marinette. Have a nice-”

“What about your _cat?”_ She frowned.

As if suddenly remembering that the creature existed, he uttered a swear word-

-Then immediately halted as she raised her eyebrows in surprise. He looked at her, startled, and then his expression took on one of apologetic mortification.

“I’m sorry!” he exclaimed, floundering. “Wow, I’m _so_ sorry, I didn’t expect for that to- to- it just… slipped out.” He groaned and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m… so sorry.”

She shook her head, her hands hovering somewhere in midair between them in what she hoped looked like a placating gesture. “Don’t even worry about it,” she said gently. “We’re both adults here; I don’t judge. Sometimes… sometimes I slip up a ‘swear’ here and there too.”

Adrien slowly removed his hand from his face.

Then, out of nowhere, the cat rounded the corner, nearly ran over their feet, and scurried away.

He sighed wearily.

Marinette smiled a small smile at him. “I think I know how we can lure Plagg back into your apartment.”

“Oh no,” He waved his arms. “You don’t have to worry about that-”

“It’s no trouble,” she assured him. “After all, I owe you, remember? For buying our cats’ collars?” Her smile deepened. “Do you have catnip? My Tikki loves catnip.”

“No, I don’t,” he admitted.

“No big deal! We can borrow Tikki’s toy.” She beckoned with her hand for him to follow her, and then led the way to her apartment door. “Wait here.” She left him out in the hallway, went outside, searched under her loveseat and around furniture for a moment, before finding the little fake mouse beneath her bed. _“Gotcha.”_

She stepped back out into the hallway, rejoining him. “Alright. Your place.”

“Right.” He turned on his heel and started walking. She followed.

They got to his door, and he closed his hand around the knob, ready to turn it.

But it wouldn’t turn.

Both of them realizing all at once that he’d managed to lock himself out of his own home - Marinette briefly mourning the fact that she couldn’t check her messages yet, and Adrien grieving _everything -_ they turned slowly to face each other, and smiled awkwardly.

“Well.” Marinette tightened both of her pigtails. “Looks like you and I are finally gonna establish that playdate for our cats.”

“Looks like it.” The expression in Adrien’s eyes and smile put together looked faintly like a cry for help, at least from her baffled perspective.

She turned solidly away from him and moved toward the corner at the end of the hallway and crouched, catnip toy in hand. The sooner she helped Adrien, the sooner she’d be able to get back to what she _really_ wanted to do - continue that private message conversation.

Determined, she tossed the mouse just around the corner, and waited.

Sure enough, the rapid pattering of paws alerted her, and then she heard a pounce.

She seized the opportunity, jumping around the bend, and grabbed the distracted cat firmly with both hands. He was startled at first, but she rubbed the catnip toy against his cheek, and he stopped struggling.

She carried him back around the corner to a gaping Adrien, and together, they went back to her apartment.

Adrien entered her space visibly hesitant, and she gave him what she hoped was a disarming smile. She placed Plagg down onto her loveseat and confiscated the catnip toy from his paws. He’d clearly already had enough of it; since he immediately started rolling around on the seat, showing off his stomach.

“Tikki? Where are you hiding, love?” She called to her own pet.

The calico cat in question was burrowed beneath several pillows on her bed.

 _“Tikki,”_ she chuckled. “There’s no need to be scared of him, sweetie. He’s your brother.”

She tried to pull the cat out from underneath her hiding place, but the poor creature yowled.

Marinette sighed and shot an embarrassed look at Adrien. “She’s not usually this shy. Sorry about… everything.”

“I’m the one who’s sorry,” he said, looking down, dragging his toe around in circles on the floor. “I _did_ want to talk to you today, but not... like this. As you can see, I’m not dressed- I mean, I’m not prepared.”

She laughed lightly to show him that she didn’t care about his pajamas. “Adrien, you don’t need to _prepare_ to talk to me. After all, we’re friends, right?”

He looked at her, and for a moment, she was distracted by his hair flip.

But then their eyes met.

“Right,” he said, an uninterpretable expression quirking his lips crookedly. “We’re friends.”

He swallowed - she noticed - and then he went over to Plagg and scooped him up.

“I’m gonna interrupt whatever my Father’s doing up in his office and see if he can figure out where I can get myself a spare key,” he chuckled slightly.

“Okay,” she nodded at him, the thought of her online best friend’s messages reappearing at the forefront of her mind.

Adrien headed for the door.

Suddenly, though, he stopped before walking out, and turned slightly to look at her. “Marinette?”

She blinked. “Yes?”

He held her gaze for a long time, then finally spoke again, his statement coming out in a shaky breath. “H- have a good afternoon.”

Feeling slightly confused, she responded in kind, with a casual hand wave. “You too, Adrien.”

He smiled and nodded at her for another moment, before heading out the door.

She pulled her phone out, at long last, and instantly felt a little disappointed to see no response from _him_ just yet.

To busy herself and to pass the time, she decided to watch a couple rerun episodes of “The Miraculous Tales Of Ladybug And Cat Noir”.

At the beginning of her third episode in, she _finally_ heard the notification from her phone that she’d been waiting for.

\----

**BugabooBoyfriend: That’s so sweet of you :) I’m SO sorry for not responding back in forever, I was caught up with something.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Aw, don’t worry :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Is it dorky that I missed messaging you during that time when I couldn’t?**

**CatGotYourTongue: If so, then I guess we’re both dorks :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Gosh, I love you.**

**CatGotYourTongue: …I love you too. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: You make me so happy.**

**CatGotYourTongue: You make me so happy too. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: No, I mean… let me explain. Like, you make me REALLY happy. Like… you make me happy that I exist in THIS specific universe, the one that you’re in too. You know?**

**CatGotYourTongue: I know exactly what you mean. :) You make me happy the exact same way. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Exact same way? :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: Exact same way. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Wow. :)**

**CatGotYourTongue: Yeah haha :) Wow :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Friend?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Yeah? :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Can I ask you a serious question?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Always!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: ...What about Adrien? Does he make you happy anymore?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Adrien never made me happy. He made me a stuttering mess. YOU, on the other hand, make me happy. :) I’m honestly losing my interest in Adrien, if you want to know the truth. And I’ve totally gotten over the obsession entirely. He’s just a guy, I’m finding out. A guy who’s honestly just as normal, and just as strange sometimes, as anyone else. Seeing him around work has helped me realize that. It’s like the wool’s been pulled out from over my eyes. He’s just a coworker, and… well... YOU’RE so much more to me. :) If you want to know the truth :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: ...You’re everything to me. I want you to know that, right now.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I love you.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Wow. I can’t believe we’re talking about this…**

**CatGotYourTongue: Haha I can’t believe it either :) I love you too :) And I have an idea :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: What’s your idea?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Give me your phone number :) I wanna TALK to you. Like REALLY talk to you. I wanna hear your voice.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: 555-1719.**

\----

Marinette dialed the number and waited, holding her breath.

She exhaled in pure joy when she heard the other line pick up.

“Hi,” he said softly.

 _“Hi,”_ she said in return.

There was silence for a moment, and then both tried talking.

They stopped, and giggled.

“You first,” he whispered.

She whispered back. “No. You first.”

She heard him laugh, and it made her insides turn to jelly.

“Okay. Me first. Um... I don’t know what to say now.”

They both giggled again.

She spoke between little breaths. “I… I’m so… I’m so glad… that I met you.”

 _“Yeah,”_ he breathed back, and a shiver went down her spine. “Me too. I… I still have both of our signs, you know. The Comic-Con ones.”

“Oh, I’m glad!” She beamed. “Now I know my sign’s in good hands.”

He paused, then spoke again in a low, playful voice. “Yeah, me too. Our signs totally _belong_ together.”

She laughed, loud and strong. “Did you just _flirt_ and say a _pun_ at the same time?”

He laughed too, and she felt that there was no other sound in the world quite as satisfying to her ears. “It’s what I do best, Madam.”

Her butterflies were unbearable.

“I love hearing you call me that out loud.”

“What?” He realized what she meant, after a second, and she could practically _hear_ his smile. “...Ah. Well, then I’ll call you _\- Madam -_ on the phone, from now on.”

She grinned at his double meaning. “Sounds like a plan… Sir.”

More giggling. More pauses.

“So… have you given more thought to that oneshot idea?”

She rested the side of her head against the wall, her smile permanently stuck to her face. “You always care about my writing. You have no idea how much that means to me. I _have_ given it thought, but I’m nervous.”

“Of course I care. _Anyone_ would, if they read what you’re capable of writing. And why? Why are you nervous?”

She clutched her phone tighter to her ear. “I don’t know.”

“Fight that bad feeling. _Fight_ it with your determination and talent.”

She found herself nodding, even though he couldn’t see. “Okay. I will. Gosh, thank you so much.”

“Don’t mention it…” He exhaled. “I love you.”

She was seeing stars. “...I love _you.”_

“I love you, I love you again.”

She let out a tiny squeal in delight. “I love you, I love you again, I love you again plus ten.”

His voice was like candy. “I love you more.”

Her body felt lighter than air and much, much warmer than its usual temperature. “I love you most.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised.”

“Yeah?”

_“Yeah.”_

She suddenly heard him shift the phone and sigh.

“I’m so sorry… I have to go,” he said.

Startled by the change in his voice, she tilted her head. “Wait. Why? Is something wrong?”

“No.” He seemed to be shuffling the phone between his hands. “I mean...yes. I mean…” He sighed again. “I just… realized… I messed up. With something important. I gotta fix it. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Trying not to feel disappointed that he was cutting the conversation short so early, she put a smile back on her face and responded. “Okay. Whatever it is that needs fixing, I know you’ll take care of it. I’m looking forward to our next talk.”

“I hope so.” He sounded worried. “And… me too. I… I love you.”

“I love you,” she echoed him, and then heard the _‘click’_ of the end of the phone call.

\----

Adrien picked up his pillow, smothered his face with it, and _screamed._

This wasn’t fair. He wasn’t playing fair.

She’d gotten _over him_ … only to fall in love, again, with _him._

This felt an awful lot like manipulation. Like trickery. Like deceit.

Because it _was_ all those things.

He released the pillow from his mouth and stared at the damp spot, thinking hard.

“I’ve gotta tell her.” The realization hit him in the stomach like a pile of bricks, hammering down upon every nerve and fear he’d tried desperately to avoid. “I have no other choice. I’ve… I’ve gotta tell her.”

\----

Marinette was surprised to see that he was calling again so soon.

She picked up the call, smiling. “You sure fixed that problem fast.”

“Actually, I didn’t.” His voice indicated that he wasn’t smiling back. “I… I’ve screwed up. Really, really bad.”

Instantly concerned, she sat down at her loveseat. “Tell me what you did, and I’ll try to help you.”

He sounded _scared_ when he spoke again. “I… I don’t know how to tell you.”

Wondering what he was getting at, she furrowed her eyebrows, but kept her voice gentle and comforting. “Just tell me. I won’t run away.”

There was a profound silence, and then when he spoke again, his voice cracked all over the place. “Do you promise?”

She nodded. “I promise.”

“Okay.” He sighed deeply. “Okay, oh _God._ Okay. Just… open the door.”

She froze.

“...What?”

He repeated himself. “Open the door. Your apartment door.”

Her mind going blank, her heart going blank, she whipped her head around to stare at the door.

She spoke again, quietly. “You’re scaring me.”

“No, _please_ don’t be scared.” She was suddenly aware that she could hear his voice from right outside her apartment, and her blood ran cold. “I’m on the other side of the door. It’s me. Your best friend.”

“H-how do you know where I live?”

He sighed again, deliberating for just a moment, and then spoke. “Because… because _I_ work at Agreste Productions too… Marinette. I can’t lie to you anymore. You need to know that I’m your coworker.”

The silence that followed was so severe that she could hear a ringing in her ears. As well as his words, playing over and over again, in her mind. _You need to know that I’m your coworker. You need to know that I’m your coworker. You need to know that I’m your coworker._

Inch by inch, she slowly stood, and without breathing, she walked across her apartment to her door.

Her phone still to her ear, she unlocked the door with her free hand, then opened it.

There, right in front of her, with his phone in _his_ hand at _his_ ear, stood Adrien Agreste. Hair flip and all.

She gasped _sharply,_ and on instinct, tried to close the door, but he reached his hand out and pressed against it.

“You promised you wouldn’t run away!” he cried.

She let go of the door and stepped backwards into her kitchen, in shock, and he entered the room, his hands up in a conciliatory gesture.

“I…” she shook her head very slowly, trying to process what the _hell_ was going on. “I…”

He stopped, his hands still up, his phone still in one hand, his expression guilty.

He spoke.

“I’m so sorry for not telling you as soon as I found out.”

Still processing, her jaw hanging open, she turned her head to one side, eyeing him.

He continued. “I found out the day we were walking around the pond, complaining about life. You showed me the bracelet that I made for you. That’s how I knew.” His eyes flashed with desperation. “And I know it’s been two weeks since that day, _I know,_ and I wanted to tell you, believe me, I did. But I was so afraid… of… _this.”_ He gestured to her. “Of your reaction. But I know now that that was selfish. That was _so_ selfish of me. You deserved to find out as soon as I found out. I kept you in the dark, and I’m sorry.” He placed his phone in his pocket and clasped his hands together. “I deserve for you to be mad at me, I deserve for you to yell at me, but _please,_ don’t avoid me. Don’t give up on me. Don’t give up on what we have. I need you. You’re my bestest friend.”

She turned her head to the other side, still eyeing him, her face twitching; she closed her mouth, then opened it again, then closed it again, then opened it again.

“Please, say something,” he begged.

“You’re…” she began, and brought her hands up to the sides of her head, clutching it dizzily. “You’re… _BugabooBoyfriend?”_

He inhaled.

She began nodding to herself in realization.

He then exhaled, taking one step forward in the space between them.

She took a step backward.

He looked pained. “Yell at me. Shout. Throw things. Freak out. Get angry. Do _something.”_

Still clutching her head, her eyes traveled from his eyes down to his feet, then back up. “You’re Adrien Agreste.”

He nodded, nervous. “Yes, unfortunately.”

She slowly lowered, then lifted, a shaky hand and pointed at him. “You… Adrien. You… Bugaboo…” Her voice trailed off.

“Yes.” His eyes were wide and scared. “I’m both those people- but- but I’m also just _one person.”_ He raised his eyebrows, pleading with her in a silent language that she somehow caught and understood. “I’m the guy you’re friends with. I’m the guy who cracks jokes and makes puns around you. I’m the guy who’s _always_ been interested in a friendship with you, even when you were too distant and too cool for me.”

He took another step forward. “I’m the guy who you act around as superheroes with. But I’m also the guy who gushes with you about those superheroes. I’m the guy who’s _just_ as obsessed with cartoons and fanfictions as you are, the guy who loves your writing, the guy whose username you make fun of constantly.” He lowered his voice. “I’m the guy you share a mutual love for Jagged Stone with. The guy you sat with on the bus ride to San Diego. The guy you hugged at Comic-Con. The guy who, without realizing it, talked about _you_ at that panel. I’m the guy who loves you.”

Marinette barked out a sudden, astonished laugh. “N-no…”

Adrien nodded, his hands outstretched. _“Yes…_ I’m that same guy. Marinette, I _love_ you.” He sighed and stopped. “We can… start over, if you want. We can… we can re-introduce ourselves.” He thought for a second, then added, “We can take another walk around the pond, or- or we can message each other again- or I can call…” He looked at her helplessly. “Please. I’ll do anything. Anything you want. Anything that’ll help you come to grips with this.”

There was dead silence between them, and then, all of a sudden, her phone rang, and they both went stiff.

Her eyes still locked on Adrien’s, she brought the phone up to her ear and answered the call, overwhelmed.

 _“Hello?_ Who’s _this?”_ Her shoulders slumped as the caller in question spoke. “Oh my God, Mom. Hi.”

She paused. “Is- is it okay if I call you back? I’m kinda in the middle of something right now. Okay, thanks… love you too.”

She hung up, rested her phone on the kitchen counter, and then turned back to Adrien, who was fidgeting with his hands.

“So…” she closed her eyes, then reopened them, looking at him decisively. He was staring her down. “So… um… what are we?”

He blinked, as if this was not what he’d expected her to say. “What are we?” He repeated.

She took a little step forward, lifting her chin, and his eyes widened. “Yeah. What are we?” She searched his face intently. “What _exactly_ are we?”

He gaped at her. “Uh…”

She craned her neck forward, waiting for him to say words.

He continued to stare at her. “Um… well… we’re… us.” He raised his hands, then dropped them back to his sides. “We’re us. We’re Adrien and Marinette; Cat Noir and Ladybug sometimes, ‘BugabooBoyfriend’ and ‘CatGotYourTongue’ other times. We’re _us.”_

For some reason, the way he’d phrased it actually made sense. Still, she pressed further. “No…” She took another step forward, right up into his personal space. She emphasized her words by stepping her foot down three times. “What. _Are._ We?”

He faltered. “I… we…”

She raised her eyebrows and lifted her hands and shook them in the air. “Adrien. Are we _friends?_ Are we… are we _more?”_ They both blushed, but she was far past the point of paying attention to that at the moment. “I’m in shock right now, and I don’t exactly know what to do about it, but I _need_ to know right now what we are to each other.”

“Then… yes.” Adrien blinked. “We… yes. We’re more.”

She nodded slowly, grateful he’d _confirmed_ it. “Okay. Okay… We’re more.”

“...Yes,” he said again.

They stared at each other.

“So…” Adrien’s face, she noticed, had gone completely pink. “You’re not… you’re not mad at me? For not telling you sooner? You're not mad that it's  _me?"_

“Adrien, to be completely honest with you,” Marinette’s eyes went back and forth from focusing on his left eye to his right. “I wouldn’t have known what to do either if I were in your shoes. I probably would’ve kept it a secret for a little while too. As for your second question..." She refocused her attention on his face, really looking at him. "Why would I be mad? I essentially had a crush on both halves of you, and now... they're... well, _one."_

With this spoken aloud, something deep within both of them utterly relaxed, and the atmosphere between them shifted to something _new._

“I’m still so sorry,” Adrien insisted, but she could see the hope in his expression now. “I wasn’t trying to manipulate your feelings, but it definitely feels like I did.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she shook her head, and tried giving him a little smile. “We’re… we’re even now.”

He cocked his head, confused, but smiled hopefully back.

“Well, I totally abandoned you and disappeared off the internet for a little while there,” she explained. “And… and then you found out who I was, and didn’t tell me that you knew. We’ve obviously _both_ messed up. So… what do you say?” She offered a hand, and he looked down at it. “Wanna shake on it and call ourselves even?”

After a long pause, she was startled - and struck by another, stronger feeling; this one indescribable by every definition - when he threw his arms around her and pulled her in for a very tight hug.

She closed her eyes and wrapped one arm around his upper back and rested the other one around the small of his lower back.

They stood there, holding each other like a lifeline for what felt like an eternity, when suddenly, Adrien started laughing.

Deciding at that point that her common sense was completely done for and that she didn’t really _need_ it anyway, she joined him.

The two began shaking with giggles.

So much so, that they had to pull away from each other slightly.

And as Marinette stared into Adrien’s eyes, laughing so hard she thought she might faint, he leaned down, and pressed his lips to hers.

Her laugh disappeared, as did any last remnant of coherent thought.

\----

He didn’t know what happened first - her eyes fluttering shut, her arms tightening their hold more resolutely around his body, or her wildly returning his action - but all three of those things absolutely _did_ happen, and he absolutely _did_ respond by doing those exact same three things back.

The fact of all this - that they were standing there, holding each other, and kissing; raggedly, breathlessly, _finally_ kissing, in her kitchen - was the only thing that mattered to him now.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter :) It's short, sweet, and to the point, but I think it's the perfect ending, if I do say so myself :)
> 
> ...OR IS IT? Haha, check out my Author's Note down at the bottom for more info!

\----

**BugabooBoyfriend: ...Wow.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Really? :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: WOW.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Awwwwww really??? :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Marinette, this oneshot… Wow. I have several things I’d like to say. First and foremost, I love the way it began. Ladybug on the rooftop, pondering things, then of COURSE Cat Noir thinks to go to that EXACT rooftop, not knowing she’s there, and they’re both surprised and acting just the right amount of awkward to KNOW that something’s going on between them, and then, the DIALOGUE. Marinette, the dialogue, oh my God. You got their voices down PERFECTLY. To a freaking “T”. And THEN, YOU FLIPPING COMPLETED THE MIRACULOUS MASQUERADE STORY IN THIS AND IT ALL SOMEHOW TIED IN TOGETHER PERFECTLY ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? YOU DID THAT JUST FOR ME???? OH MY GOD /flails/ /hyperventilates/ /screams/ A broken piece of my heart has finally been put back together again, so thank you so much I don’t even know how to thank you. And THENNNNN their kiss. OH my WORD their kiss????? Was just??? SO in-character???? I’m about to cry and of COURSE an akumatized villain just HAD to interrupt. BUT THAT’S PERFECT TOO, because it IMPLIES that their conversation [and/or kissing session] ISN’T OVER, and therefore THAT implies that you might write another chapter and turn this oneshot into a multi-chapter fic?! :) I’m hoping I’m right??? :) BUT EVEN IF I’M WRONG, IT DOESN’T MATTER, THE STORY’S PERFECT AS IS AND I CAN’T WAIT TO READ ALL THE REVIEWS. /deep breath/ Thank you for listening.**

**CatGotYourTongue: :,) I’m gonna freaking scream. That review… was beautiful. Definitely my favorite, even though no one else has had the chance to comment yet. ;) By the way, I’ll let you in on a little secret… I listened to my birthday song “In The Rain” on constant repeat in order to make this story happen. :) Gosh, it felt so good to CREATE again. Thank you Adrien. Thank you so much for everything. For believing in me, for inspiring me, for encouraging me and motivating me and telling me I could do it.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: I’m so proud of you :,) OF COURSE you could do it. Obviously.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: This story is gonna keep me giggling all night long. I’m gonna have DREAMS about this fic. Your stories are better than the actual show, I hope you know that.**

**CatGotYourTongue: /gasp/ That’s crazy talk! That’s… that’s blasphemy! That’s HERESY!**

**BugabooBoyfriend: NO IT IS NOT MADAM. NO IT IS NOT. SO FAR THE ACTUAL CHARACTERS IN THE ACTUAL SHOW HAVEN’T EVEN REACHED MUTUAL PINING YET. IT’S NOT EVEN CLOSE. LET’S JUST ACCEPT THAT THE FANFICTION WORLD FAR SURPASSES THE CANON WORLD.**

**CatGotYourTongue: BUT WITHOUT THE CANON WORLD, FANFICTION WOULDN’T EVEN EXIST. WHAT’S MORE IMPORTANT? THE INSPIRATION, OR THE INSPIRED?**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Marinette, it is one in the morning. We have WORK in three hours. Don’t do this to me.**

**CatGotYourTongue: Oh gosh, you’re right. I guess we should go to sleep.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Yeah :/**

**CatGotYourTongue: :/**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Goodnight…**

**CatGotYourTongue: Goodnight…**

**BugabooBoyfriend: …**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Are you still there?**

**CatGotYourTongue: ...Yes.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: ...Wanna just pull an all-nighter?**

**CatGotYourTongue: Yes. :)**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Alrighty then, where were we?**

**CatGotYourTongue: We were about to go into a mindless philosophical debate about fanfiction.**

**BugabooBoyfriend: Ah, yes. My favorite.**

**CatGotYourTongue: SO AS I WAS SAYING…**

\----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Thanks again for reading my story! This one's my favorite to date.
> 
> I now have a oneshot sequel/continuation posted as the seventh chapter of my fic "Vignettes à la Carte", so definitely feel free to check that out! It concludes the story of Reality Check, almost as an epilogue.
> 
> Much love to you all!


End file.
